We see the beauty of combining gas, grease, and steel into a powerful, exact movement. — Warren Eyster, The Goblins of Eros (1925-2016)

My childhood passion for mechanical toys had been transmitted to a delight in machinery for its own sake and for meaning to man…man-and-machine would be as important as air, water, and light of sun. — Diego Rivera, Mexican painter/muralist (1886-1957)

At long last the monster tractors showed up. They were incredibly bigger than I had envisioned. It was clear there was no way they’d be able to enter through the front gate to the lake. Not to be outdone Sam made a couple of calls and a generous farmer allowed two of the 78-foot tractors with two pans each to drive through the cultivated field to the back corner of the property by the lake. Only a couple of wires and one large cedar tree had to be removed. Sam said, “It’s too bad it’s not Christmas. We’d have a nice tree.”

We started draining the seven-acre lake summer of 2021. I was pretty proud to be a part of the process. It takes at least two to siphon the water up and over the dam-one on the lakeside and one over the dam. Sam put one end of the PVC pipe in the water. The other end on the opposite side of the dam. The ends were closed off. When Sam yelled, I was to turn the valve and the water would flow. I failed a few times but we eventually got it going. Over time we would add a larger pipe and a pump. By August, this year, the lake was as low as we thought it would get so we removed the siphon pipes and pumps and waited our turn for the earth movers to come.

We contracted with PACE Excavating but we referred to them as the “lake guys.” Turns out they do a lot more than digging lakes. Summer and fall are the optimal time for excavating, particularly building lakes before the rains come. Seth Wedel looked over the seven acres and said, “We’ll have it cleaned out in two days.”

I never would have believed it until I saw the monster tractors arrive. Each tractor pulled two pans; pans attach to the tractor to scoop and move dirt efficiently without dragging the dirt. The dirt moved from the lakebed would form peninsulas and a new dam.

We were able to get a few numbers on the equipment. The tractor with two pans was 78 feet long pulled by a 700-horsepower engine. The tractor alone weighed 60,000 pounds; with two empty pans attached the weight would total 120,000 pounds. Each pan could haul 22 yards of dirt, dirt mixed with Prairie clay could weigh 2300 pounds per cubic yard or over 50,000 pounds for one pan. These tractors hauled two.

The sound of the excavating drew the attention of our “guy friends.” Every now and then one or two would come over and quietly watch the monster tractors. One guy friend brought his two young nephews. The driver was nice enough to take the little fellows one at a time for a spend around the lakebed. It was good they came when they did. Just like the lake guys had said, in two days they were done and gone.

Shannon Bardwell is a writer living quietly in the Prairie. Email reaches her at [email protected].