I think Nature Runner summed
I think Nature Runner summed it up after 3 pages - "Know your grass."
I, too, run in Atlanta (actually mostly within Fort McPherson or in my neighborhood in McDonough), and I also have found the tiny, prickling, almost-heart-shaped 1/16"-sized green things among small bluish flowers with a single thorny point. They generally stick in my feet, and I then have to stop and/or hop while pulling them out. Unpleasantness galore when you're expecting soft grass.
That said, Grass and soft/dry/dusty dirt are still my absolute favorite surfaces on which I would run exclusively if I could, although I run mostly on asphalt both at Fort Mac and at home, or I have for the last several months until the sun has almost reached the asphalt-melting point. The last 10 minutes of one of my started-late-mid-day runs last week must have looked like the Pepsi "hot beach sand between the ocean and the Pepsi stand" commercial of several years ago, with lots of quick foot-lifting after setting them down for as brief an interval as absolutely necessary, accompanied by an "Ow! Ouch! Ooh!" soundtrack.
Just as we were designed to run without shoes, we were designed to run on earth, not concrete or asphalt.
I really don't want to run in my VFFs, so I'm thinking about going earlier in the day. If that doesn't work out due to timing, I'll probably end up just going in circles around the parade field here at Fort Mac, which is about 0.75 mile per loop. I hate running in circles, but the mid-day time works best for me in place of lunch.
To bring this full circle, that is grass I that I know, marched flat routinely by thousands of soldiers, manicured nearly as lovingly as the golf course, on which we cannot run (post commander's orders), and big enough to at least not allow the circles to make me dizzy. It still feels as pointless to me as NASCAR - 1000 left turns in 4 hours. Wow. But at least it's an option.
If you can really get to know a patch of grass, it might help ease your mind. One side benefit of mid-foot striking in my experience is that rolling an ankle, which was not uncommon for me in my 25 years of shod running, seems to be a non-existent threat with a mid-foot stride. The muscle and connecting tissue support that engages upon forefoot-touchdown seems to never leave my ankle relaxed enough laterally to even consider rolling on me.
Thus far I have been fine as I try to use my best discernment when going thru grass. Even grass that is short cropped can hide little nasty stuff. It's not the sharp stuff that may be hiding, it's the poop with all the little parasites it may hold.
