Bulldozing

More than 40 years ago I briefly was an instructor on Army Engineer heavy equipment, a life-long hobby that continues today, as noted in "About Me." Bulldozing can be compared to flying, because the entire dozer must follow and compensate for the cut or fill of the blade, just as a plane must follow the dip and rise of its control surfaces. A large difference is that a bulldozer survives plowing ground.

The recent photo above shows my piloting of a venerable Case 1150B that we resurrected with a rebuilt undercarriage, blade, and an in-frame engine job. The power of such a machine has to be felt rather than seen, as it topples a large dead tree with perhaps three cuts and a push. Or, cutting four feet into a bank with just a few scrapes of the blade, followed by leveling of the cut spoil in fourth gear, wide open throttle, as one hand rests on the shift pulpit, both feet gently steer, and a right hand nudges the blade control as the ton or so of dirt spoils away under a slightly raised blade.

Comparable to a heavy-weight dance, I call it therapy.