I went straight to the land from work and on the way, there were a few rain drops but not bad. I got to the land and it was not raining. I got on the tractor and proceeded to do the three things I wanted to do before removing the backhoe from the tractor. I yanked a grounding rod out of the ground that was a trip / lawnmower snag hazard in the front yard. The FEL (front end loader for you city slickers) made small work of that job. Then i proceeded to try to find (in the un-mowed tall grass) a marker that I had planted that had something that needed to be dug out. I do not even remember what it was that needs to be dug out. I never located that so I went on to job number three. Locating a 10 or so foot long electrical pole that was lying in the tall grass. I originally found it by accident when I rolled over it while bush hogging with the Kubota tractor. I wrapped the chain around the pole and lifted it with the FEL and drove off to the trash pile. Well that was fine until I tried to cross a flooded spot in the field and the backhoe stabilizers got stuck in the mud and stopped the tractor. I tried to use the differential lock to no avail to go forward and backwards. I tried to use the backhoe to pull myself out but the backhoe is made for digging, not for lifting a tractor that just the tires weigh about 800 pounds. I finally called in experience backup, an Operating Engineer named Ray. Not only is he an equipment operator but he also has a tractor so he has lots of experience in this sort of thing. Ray used the backhoe stabilizers to raise the wheels above the ground and we laid several layers of 2×6’s under the tires and set it back down on top of them. Between Ray’s truck and the differential lock, it rolled right out of the hole. At least I now have an idea of what to do next time. And believe you me, there will most definitely be a next time! Pictures to come later.