A corner of the house is falling down under normal rainfall and because of continual quakes. I have dug a trench and dug a trench and dug ... to continue to let the water drain away from the foundation. That option is at a stand still and water is standing near and some is standing by the foundation.

Ideally, a ton of dirt would be hauled in and back filled up against that foundation. Right?

What if that cannot be done? I can take 'some' dirt from the yarden area and attempt to backfill. I have enough to fill in the holes that are now there, but not enough dirt (or manpower) to actually fix the grade. The house is at the top of a slope and this area is about 20" lower than it needs to be in order to run off away from the foundation.

For the life of me, I don't know what to do to stymie erosion and shore up this area. Any suggestions would be great. We have no money. I know sand is cheap, but that's not a possibility as all our money is tied up in the other house we are moving into.

We just want out, but I just don't have it in me to not do all that I can. You know what I mean?

When the May rains dried up I built a semi compost on top. I tried to grade it and then I put some existing compost and a lot of hay to cover the area to stimulate life and allow the grey water to decompose and avoid a health hazard. It worked. Grass is trying to grow there now. I figure roots are the best thing. But, as you know, it won't quit raining!! I wish I had a gutter to slap up there and divert the rain fall out. I don't have a tarp or a piece of metal that is big enough to sufficiently divert the rain water from the eaves to a different area.