Question
I live in a town house and have a yard that doesn't ever seem to dry... its not a big space and i have neighbors on both sides.. their yards seem to be dry but mine is patchy with grass and like i said muddy... I keep trying to ask others about a way to fix this problem but don't undersdtand what they say... I am not looking to have a full garden i just want to be able to have grass so my dogs can play back there without a ton of mud.. can you please help me???

Answer
Hi again Greg;
I just got the notice of feedback, so I read your other questions.
When you want a followup question answered, I get it sooner if you post it here, rather than with the rating.
Yep, that clay means that soil is not going to grow diddly.
I would remove about 4 to 6 inches down, and then till up the next 6 inches and add bark mulch to loosen up taht part of the clay. I would till 2 parts bark mulch to 1 part clay soil.
In other words, dump on about 4 inches of bark mulch, and till to 6 inches deep.
You can use that soil you took out if you mix 1 part clay soil, 1 part good sandy loam, and 1 part bark mulch. Mix that all together and put it back to fill the yard, and raise it about 1 inch, as it will settle some and sink down another inch or so.
You could keep some of the soil mix you make, in case you need to fill in more.
I know that is a lot of work, but you can't do much with that clay, and doing it all the way now will save you years of hard work and frustration.
You can have a nice lawn by spring when you put in grass.
There is nothing for good soil under that clay, or more of the water would drain through. So you pretty much have to start from scratch.
When you are taking out that soil. Keep ANY vegetation you have there, even weeds. Mix them in with the clay and bark mulch as you till it. That vegetation will decap and compost and add nutrients to that bottom soil.
When you till in that top section of soil, water it to settle it, and then throw sugar  down at the rate of 5 pounds per 1000 sq.ft. of yard.
That sugar will nourish the beneficial microbes that will inhabit your soil and enrich your soil on an ongoing basis.
I battled all the bugs and fungus etc for over 45 years, and about 10 years ago, got smart and switched to organics.
Organics cures all the problems. Chemical fertilizers, weed killers etc just create problems.
Weeds won't thrive in rich soil. They will start to come up and die out right away, in the first few years, than when they soil has had 2 to 4 years to build up with the organics, the weeds just won't even come up.
There have been no weeds come up in my yard for over 8 years now.
The sugar does nothing but nourish the beneficial mincrobes. The microbes do all the work.
Thow some earthworms( plain old fishing worms) onto the yard. They will tunnel in, have babies and work on enriching and aerating your soil.
Alfalfa meal is full of nutrients for the soil. You will need to go to a feed store to get that, probably.
It is just ground up alfalfa. Yopu sprinkle it lightly on the ground and water it in. It is not expensive at all, and doing that every two weeks for about 3 feedings will put a lot of nutrients in your soil.
Lava sand is great too. Sprinkle it on lightly like the alfalfa meal. You can mix these in as you till that top part of soil, or sprinkle them on top and water well.
DON'T use chemical fertilizers, weed killers or insecticides.
If you put any fertilizer or other chemicals on it, you wil cancel ut all the organics.
If you wiould like more about organics, just write me, and I will be glad to help you with it.
Using chemicals on my lawn, I used to spend about 20 hours or more per week on my lawn.
Since I have been on organics, I put in about 2 hours per week, on average, and I have a gorgeous, healthy, lush, weedfree lawn.
Charlotte

Hi Greg;
Know what? It sounds like you maybe have a clay soil that will not allow the soil to drain through, and if it is cupped like a shallow bowl, or level so that it won't run off, there is no place for the water to go, until it sets long enough to evaporate.
Heavy clay soil will not drain, and water can't soak into the ground and get to the plant roots, so grass and plants, except weeds, will not grow.
To loosen the soil fast, you need to till up the soil, and till in some amendments to loosen it up. Bark mulch, humus, peat moss, there are a number of things that will loosen the soil if tilled in.
To loosen more gradually, you can just use an organic lawn care program. Organics constantly enrich and inprove the soil.
It is impossible to till up soil if it is very wet.
You might just need to bring in more soil, and put it in so that you have a way for it to drain off, so it will get dry enough to till it up.
Not knowing where you live, and what kind of soil you have, it is very hard to suggest what you could do.
Put a shovel in it, and see if the wet goes several inches down, like 6 or 7, or iff there is dry hard soil a couple of inches down.
Is the whole yard muddy? Or is it just some areas that won't get dry?
If there are just muddy places scattered over the yard, it could be these aare low places, and you just need to fill them in.
If you tell me what these people are telling you to do, maybe I can explain it to you so that you can understand it.
Charlotte