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