Yard Flooded

As you can see, 25 blocks didn't go far, in the cat yard, to fill in the muck and mud. The fence too, needs rebuilt. It's already rotting. That is because you're supposed to leave small spaces between the fence boards for air and drainage and there is no space between the boards. I had some fence paint and painted some of it, but the paint didn't go far. Needs protected, should have been painted long ago. It's a mystery to me why even grass that was still there a month ago, in the cat yard, now isn't just dead, it's gone. I think the roots rot out, because of the drainage issue, not sure. Anyhow, as I can afford to buy blocks, I will buy them and cover the whole darn thing in cement blocks, slowly but surely.

Oregon is deluging. Rain. Rain likes Oregon. Mold does also.

My yard is flooded. I can't grow grass back there. It's like the soil is a toxic wasteland from former tenants or maybe from ages ago. Clay. Solid like rock, impenetrable even to water.

The garage room is being threatened by the water onslaught.

I decided to take action. I had two flakes of straw left out of about four someone gave me to use in insulated feral housing structures I make out of whatever I have around, usually scrap wood pieced together.

I spread it out into the biggest pools, then dumped bags of wood pellet fuel over the straw, which instantly sucked out the water as the pellets turned to sawdust. It was so effective and cheap a remedy I could not believe it.

I saw the suggestion once on Discovery channel, using straw or even shredded paper, mixed in, to help stabilize areas of new soil in soggy places.

I give up on growing anything back in the no sun zone toxic dirt yard. How many times have I reseeded that area? Don't ask. No sun doesn't help, with the two maples, limbs well-leafed spread wide in the summer to block all sun to the backyard.

Shade is nice but mud is not.

I spent $25 just now on 25 more foot square red cement blocks. I was going to make them myself, in my garage, out of instant cement mix, to save money, using forms I'd build, and maybe decorating them with bright things, but now time is the factor and I just want the soggy wet standing water yard turned into something other than a mud bog.

I need about 100 more of those squares, more than that eventually. For now, I have 25, and I'll spot them around. I'm going to think of other ways to solve this problem cheap. Ideas anybody out there?