My yard, usually bare dirt, is covered with this stuff after our recent rains. Anyone know what it is?
They’re plants.
Looks rather parsley like to me. What’s it smell like?
Nothing.
That’s a rather personal question. 
djm
Quick! Rip it ALL out before the cops come!
Possibly Italian parsley?
Please don’t eat it to find out.
–James
If it looks like parsley (or cilantro) but doesn’t smell like either… I used to know what it is. And while I can’t recall the name if it’s what I think it is you really don’t wanna eat it.
I don’t plan to eat it. I’m just curious… our yard only gets green after heavy rain, and it sure ain’t grass.
It’s on the tip of my brain, but I can’t quite reach it.
What kind of soil conditions are in your area? Clay/silt/sandy? Alkaline acidic or neutral? Moisture? High or low altitude?
hmmm…
It might be Geranium Robertianum?
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=GERO
If it is and you uproot one of them you should be greeted with a malodourous stench.
Can you give us a bit more of an idea of how big it is? Is it hairy or sticky? Does it creep or is your pic of a mass of little seedlings? Any flowers or buds? A lot of plant families have species with leaves like that. Something’s telling me poppy family.
That’s chiffweed.
Almost everything growing in California is weed, so I’ve been told.
Try looking at the Brassicaceae (Mustard Family). Just thought of this, Erodium moschatum, Geraniaceae (Geranium Family) another great dissected leaf family.
Erodium crossed my mind too. There are also any number of composites with not dissimilar leaves. Feverfews, that sort of thing.
Kind of reminded me of carrot leaves. Creeping buttercup?
Wow, there are a lot of options.
Our soil is mostly clay.
The leaves are pretty small; they appear about actual size on my macbook screen.
I haven’t torn any up and smelled them yet.
If I were to have a metal band, they’d be called Creeping Buttercup.
Me I’d use Dodder, hellbine, devil’s gut, it’s a parasite. But I think you have yourself an Erodium spp. of some type either the moschatum or the cicutarium. Both are noxious non-native invasive aliens that should be eradicated with extreme prejudice. Quick bring out the goats! 