Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Then and Now

Well, the Bag Lady sorted out her problem with uploading photos. Of course, all the text she had planned has gone totally out of her head - probably burned up in the steam that was coming out her ears.....


She was scanning through her vast collection of photographs desperately seeking ideas for a post and came across this old photo of her uncle bringing in a load of logs with horses. These logs would have been cut by hand (probably with some sort of hand saw) and loaded onto skids by sheer manpower. They would have used some chains and hooks, perhaps, but it was back-breaking, physical work, back in the days when men were men and hard work was a way of life. (cue music "show me some men who are stout-hearted men...." Okay, never mind.)


In contrast, this is a more current photograph (taken sometime in the 1990's) of the modern method of bringing logs in from the forest. These logs would have been cut with a machine, probably a feller-buncher, which holds the tree, cuts it off, then strips all the branches off before laying it in a pile to be loaded onto a truck by the machine in the picture below.

Another machine will unload the logs in the mill yard.

The Bag Lady was going to make all sorts of analogies about the changes modern technology has wrought in our lives, but she has just reminded herself that this particular modern technology that she is parked in front of is doing nothing to reduce her ever-expanding ass, so she's going to get up and go do some chores.....outside.....in the fresh air.....

20 comments:

Leah J. Utas said...

Love the pic. Who's in it?
Technology has made our lives more complicated and messy and stinky and unhealthy. Doesn't mean I'll give it up.

the Bag Lady said...

That's Uncle Rob in the first photo.
And I don't plan on giving up technology, either, but I do think that's part of the reason humanity is in such generally bad physical condition - we don't have to physically work nearly as hard now.

Hilary said...

Great photo comparisons, Baggie. Sent directly to my computer from yours. And we didn't have to lift more than a finger. So bad but so good.

I'm glad you resolved the photos issue. Uploading photos properly to Blogger has been difficult for a lot of people lately.. myself included.

the Bag Lady said...

Thanks, Hilary!

I'm still not sure why it was doing what it was doing, but at least it's sorted out now.

Anonymous said...

My husband, whom I do love despite his abilities to annoy the crap outta me, said on Saturday: "Computers cause obesity."

And then I bit his head off, so they might cause decapitation, too! lol

Sarah said...

Lol! That last comment really made me laugh... so so true.

Emily said...

What a neat old picture! My hubby loves when I show him pictures of your farm and machines : )

the Bag Lady said...

kcinnova - or perhaps divorce? LOL

Sarah - it is true, isn't it?

Emily - glad you like it!

Leah J. Utas said...

I was going to guess Rob, but they all look alike at that age.
That said, I didn't see the file name on the photo until after I asked. "Roblogging," which I naturally read as Ro blogging, didn't register for a while.

JavaChick said...

Oh Bag Lady! You make me smile. :)

Penny said...

They did it with a HAND SAW? Suddenly my life seems restful by comparison...

Love the picture!

TA x

Tom Rooney said...

Great photos Bag Lady. I'm dating myself, but we used to also throw hay bales into a truck when I was young. This too has been turned over to a mechanical way.

As for the thoughts, they may have been lost in the shower this morning.

Missicat said...

Great pictures!! I really need to find old farm pics from my family in N Dakota. I don't think they did logging, but harvested (corrected word?) hay and raised cattle.

Anonymous said...

I love that photo! Good comparison to today too.

Reb - it won't let me post as me today.

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

The horses are definitely more picturesque, but it looks like more hard work in the cold than I would ever care to take on.

the Bag Lady said...

dfLeah - I was going to make some kind of joke about logging as opposed to blogging, but it slipped my mind. Sadly.

Javachick - glad I could make you smile!!

TA - oh, yes, back before they invented chainsaws, they used a (what I think was called) a cross-cut saw or a swede saw - one guy on either end. And the trees were huge, too! Stout-hearted men...

Tom - at least you didn't date yourself by saying you used to pitch bundles...:) And damn that shower - all my good ideas go down the drain!

Missicat - if they pioneered, they probably did do at least a little logging - needed to cut wood to build houses, or at the very least, for firewood.
Find those pictures, okay?

Thanks, Reb - and thanks for identifying yourself!

BG - I have to admit to being a bit of a wimp myself - don't think I would have made much of a pioneer!

solarity said...

Yes, I love me some technology. I've used a two-man saw to cut logs to be split into firewood before my friends could afford a chain saw. We got a high proportion of talking to wood produced. At least we didn't have to haul it anywhere.

Mary Anne in Kentucky

Geosomin said...

You have been tagged...please go to my blog and see what questions I've forced..er..I mean gifted you with :)

Anonymous said...

intriguing comparisons and what leah said :)

love and loathe the technology here.

the Bag Lady said...

Mary Anne - When we go for firewood, there's a high percentage of beer drinking, too! (AFTER the saw gets shut off....)

Geo - oh, dear - I might have to ponder on that a few days....

Carla - it's true, isn't it? The things we love to hate.