The Onion farmers placed a call on the ditch—meaning that they are wanting water. The Ditch Company sends out the ditch rider and some helpers for this first ‘call’.
Winter is always hard on the canals and ditches… so when the first water comes it’s always full of trash
The water pushes all the trash before it
Cleaning itself as it flows toward California and ocean
The ditch riders and thier helpers will wait until that water gets to a ‘slow’ spot
Using forks, rakes, and a back-hoe they will lift all the trash out into a great big heap
We, and all the other farmers, will fight trash—all year long.
But nothing like the guys who open the canals for the very first time.
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 
The whole idea of irrigation this way is foreign to me, because I grew up in an area where farmers just prayed for rain.
Where does the water begin/come from. Is there a reservoir? Does the ditch ever dry up?
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I find that so fascinating… it’s like a flash flood.
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That is really cool! Where I’m from they dug out irrigation ditches all over our town and then opened it up to a mountain fed river. They have a festival every year since called the irrigation festival. I think it was 120 years ago!
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That has got to be a real pain in the arse! I have to say that I am glad that we don’t have to worry about irrigation. That is the main reason that stops us from moving to the west and buying more ground because of it being a whole new thing to learn how to do and get by with the really dry seasons!
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Looks familiar. Thanks for the trip back to home on the farm. Do they ever burn the ditch banks? Or is burning of fields and ditch banks banned for air quality?
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The ditch in our neighborhood started flowing the other day. I love to walk by it and feel as if I am in the country (o:
That tree in the first picture looks like it could come to life….it is a side view with an eye and a giant nose (o:
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The irrigation district across the river from us has gone to pressurized pipe. It saves water and trash becomes more of a non issue except in the fields where they are flood irrigated.
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I can only imagine how much trash gets pulled out of the ditch the first time, but I’m glad the trash doesn’t make it all the way to California. I’ll have to remember the job the ditch company has to do the next time I have to clear the drainage ditch in front of our house.
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How neat! Not the trash part though.
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So it has finally stopped snowing? That’s good to hear. Here is hoping that this season is great for you, your family and your farm.
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How neat to watch that water move on in. You always get such great pictures of all that goes on around you. 🙂
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Send them my way! As soon as the snow goes, my right hand girl and I will have to don rubber boots and shovels and dig! Not much trash, just mud, I hope.
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We don’t have anything like that over here – we get more than enough rain. If we do have a dry spell in the summer, the farmers use a vast watering system that sprays the water over the crops (like a giant version of lawn sprinklers!) – maybe I’ll get photos this summer for you.
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I learn so much from reading about what you do on your place. Here we are waiting on water too, only we are waiting for it to go away so we can get on the land. lol
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It makes me so sad seeing what washes into wetlands from creeks and ditches and canals. Some people have no idea how awful the garbage is to animals and not to mention the aesthetic degradation.
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Real interesting to see how the ditch system works. There’s always work to do though isn’t there. Cleaning out everything that’s been blown or dropped in the ditch with the wind etc. You’re all very hardworking people. Thanks for sharing your life Linda.
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Thats pretty cool, water on demand..:-)
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Spring is offically at your place..cause you have water..life blood for the farm..I hope you have a good year for crops! 🙂
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I got to help with something of that many moons ago and just up the valley from where you are now. I thought it was grand fun! The cannal got clogged with tumbleweeds and started over-flowing at my grandfather’s place. It sure did make a wonderful swim area if you were up to swimming in melted snow water….ha!
I was quite impressed with the ditch rider at the time who only had one arm functioning and could work like crazy! He was a serious guy and didn’t seem to cotton much to a 14 year old kid that I was back then, even if I was trying to help.
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Wow. That’s really interesting! Everywhere I have lived the farmers just hope for rain or use the sprinkler system. Seems there is always either too much rain or not enough. Spring is really here!
Jen
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Your water call posts are a highlight of the year. This is the third year for me or fourth? Love ’em!
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