When the backhoe's in trouble, bulldoze

April 1 is no joke when it comes to the start of irrigation season according to the Alpine Decree.

That day the Carson River diversion is opened and snow melt comes pouring out. Spreading a thin sheen of steel gray or deep blue, depending on the day's cloud cover, over the fields in Carson Valley. But before you can put on your knee high, black rubber, irrigating boots; sharpen your shovel or check the tip of your pickaroon you have to clean your irrigation ditches. That is why we have a bulldozer.

Not that we use a bulldozer to clean ditches. One needs a backhoe or reasonable excavator for that. Backhoes are the all purpose tool on most ranches in Nevada. They plow through snow, move immovable rocks, scrape clean mangers, scoop large buckets of dirt and debris. They are the wonder tool. Piece of steel blocking the entrance to the shop, no problem, downed tree across a ditch, no problem, tons of sand backed up in the ditches from the last flood, no problem. All can be corrected by the backhoe.

I am not allowed to use the backhoe. I think because it is too much fun and if I figure it out and get proficient with all those little levers and knobby handles my husband will not be able to do all the heavy manly "chores" he insists on doing around the ranch with his backhoe.

A backhoe is a pretty self sufficient machine. It can reach, grab, dump, scoop and lift. And if it is in a sticky situation it usually has enough horse-power with its 4 foot tires or 7 foot front scoop or 2 foot backhoe bucket to extract itself from any difficulty. Except when it can't. And that is why we have the bulldozer.

Just once, and that is all it took, just once the backhoe slipped down into one of our deeper irrigation ditches. The ditch sides were so steep and slick with snow melt the backhoe could not pull, climb or maneuver itself out. The operator, read that as husband, walked back to the house to ask for help.

And just how are we going to get it out? That backhoe is the superhero on our place pulling trucks, rocks and whatever out of tight spots? The bulldozer can do it if we can get it close enough for the chains.

So out I went on a cold, windy, snowy, rainy, sleeting, typical early spring day, Sitting atop that 1956 D4 caterpillar bulldozer. With its little engine exhaust chimney cap flapping in the breeze. Its two wide tracks easily, slowly rolling over the field to that poor stuck backhoe. I learned which levers to push, to pull, how to raise and lower the several tons of solid steel blade, how to go forward, reverse and to turn on one track and pulled that little backhoe out of its steep, steep ditch.

As time passed the husband said the bulldozer was to be sold, it was old, needed a lot of work. I said no. As every rancher needs a backhoe, every rancher's wife needs a bulldozer and that thing is still out there puttering around today.

Marie Johnson is a Carson Valley rancher.