The irrigation ditch remained green longer than the rice paddy. Irrigation of a paddy involved moving water from this small canal over the dike and into the field. One method involved 2 men using long elastic ropes attached to a small container, pulling together to throw a container of water into the targeted field and return it to the water source for the next load. An 8 hour day of doing that must have been torture and many worked longer than 8 hours.