I'm an oldtimer now, and old times love to tell stories

Me? I'm an old tymer now. And old tymers like to tell stories, i remember that from my bar tending days.  It was usually hard work , and often fun, sometimes educational. I felt privileged to listen to the stories of men and women, telling  stories of everyday li8fe during WWI and the Great Depression, all sorts of stories.  Of course some stories were greatly embellished.   

One image i  have wondered about, "could it be true"?????   A man,  brought in a photo of a team of horses standing  on a tree stump,  magnificent animals they were, yes they were, but then aren't all work horses?  I politely admired the photo in it's plain black frame.   Wondering, but not out loud,at the skill of the the "photo editor".   This al happened in 1976, the Bicentennial year.  That year it seem to me everyone was interested in history.  The shops along our main street all had displays of old tyme photos and items.  

 Nothing like "Photoshop"  existed when either photo was made.  However laborious photo editing techniques, like retouching  by hand, literally painting in or out new details, were known.   Also "photo overlay" and similar techniques have been used  since the 1850s.

Now i have you wondering,???  Well, time has passed the internet has given me an way easy learn about many things.   Was that old photo real???    "I will probably never, know for sure, but based  on what i learned i still can't be sure."

What follows is the image and words that triggered my memory of a prized team of horses standing on a tree stump.   It may seem like an odd connection, but the message is prettly clear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

This powerful image, taken in 1899 in the Sierra Nevada, United States, shows a group of people standing on a huge stump of a fallen tree. It’s not an ordinary tree: it was a colossus, probably a giant sequoia, one of the largest, longest-lived life forms on the planet. Today, this image not only amazes us by its scale, but also shakes us with a deep reflection on the impact of our actions.

Back then, the logging looked like progress. Industry was moving forward, cities and railways were being built... but at what cost. Trees that took thousands of years to grow, which stored tons of carbon, which offered homes to thousands of species, were brought down in a matter of days. More than wood was lost: centuries of living history were erased, the balance of entire ecosystems was altered, and the spiritual and natural link between humans and Earth was broken.

Giant trees aren't just witnesses to time; they're guardians of the planet. Its size is a sign of nature's patience, its wisdom, its ability to sustain life. They protect the soil, regulate the climate, purify the air and remind us how small we are in the vastness of nature. Each of them is a living monument that should not disappear out of carelessness or ambition.

Today, as we face climate change, biodiversity loss, and degradation of forests, this photo is an urgent call. It invites us to value what we still have, to protect what remains and to learn from the past. We can't change what was done in 1899, but we can decide how we act in 2025.

Taking care of a tree today is taking care of life tomorrow.

    THANK YOU for READING!  

Would attribute to the author if ever find out who .