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Yes and no :) Scything for instance is very labor intensive and it used to be payed like 3X hoeing, but we usually did it only once a year (you can cut the gra

by raducu 5y ago

Yes and no :) Scything for instance is very labor intensive and it used to be payed like 3X hoeing, but we usually did it only once a year (you can cut the grass multiple time to produce a different kind of grass) as opposed to hoeing the corn, and I would prefer scything/hay gathering any time over hoeing :) . Everybody I know that did scything has very fond memories of it, while no one that did hoeing the corn remembers it fondly. I guess scything/hay gathering has a leisure aspect to it and you feel more connected to nature. Also you feel incredible at the end of the day, because after the first 30 minutes of scything, you feel like you're going to die (all the glycogen exhausted from your muscles), you feel like you've hit a wall, but then you break that wall, slow your pace, eat your frustration and enter a flow-like state with your mind completely empty and then BAM the sun has set and you've made it through the day.

foobarian 5y ago
I haven't done it out of need, so maybe I have better memories of it than I should but it was a very skill-heavy activity where doing it poorly was frustrating and tiring, and doing it well was effortless and produced fantastic results. My favorite memory is one summer learning from a few adults, who weren't best at it, didn't have very well tuned or sharpened scythes, and then my grandfather coming out with his age-worn scythe whose blade was half as wide as the others' due to years of sharpening and fit him like a glove. He proceeded to completely out-scythe the guys, kinda like an elderly pro golfer. He would carry around a wooden water container on a belt, that held a stick with a piece of sponge on top and a sharpening stone. Every now and then he would break to wet and sharpen the blade. I remember it being scary how close he'd get to the blade while sharpening it, but still he'd do it quite often, almost after every row. I miss that old communal, village lifestyle. Being financially unsustainable basically killed it, driving young people out after better work. Could probably do it again now that WFH is more accepted, and/or boutique farms and tourist income may provide some support.
- raducu 5y ago
  Yes, doing it poorly is exactly like that, I did it poorly every morning for 30 minutes out of rage, and then did it masterfully until dusk -- I only developed the skills out of necessity. Once you've wasted your anaerobic resources, you have to do it skillfully, but I would not call it effortless, not for me, it was just something that with enough willpower and teeth grinding I could do for hours upon hours.

by raducu 5y ago

foobarian 5y ago

I haven't done it out of need, so maybe I have better memories of it than I should but it was a very skill-heavy activity where doing it poorly was frustrating and tiring, and doing it well was effortless and produced fantastic results. My favorite memory is one summer learning from a few adults, who weren't best at it, didn't have very well tuned or sharpened scythes, and then my grandfather coming out with his age-worn scythe whose blade was half as wide as the others' due to years of sharpening and fit him like a glove. He proceeded to completely out-scythe the guys, kinda like an elderly pro golfer. He would carry around a wooden water container on a belt, that held a stick with a piece of sponge on top and a sharpening stone. Every now and then he would break to wet and sharpen the blade. I remember it being scary how close he'd get to the blade while sharpening it, but still he'd do it quite often, almost after every row. I miss that old communal, village lifestyle. Being financially unsustainable basically killed it, driving young people out after better work. Could probably do it again now that WFH is more accepted, and/or boutique farms and tourist income may provide some support.

raducu 5y ago
Yes, doing it poorly is exactly like that, I did it poorly every morning for 30 minutes out of rage, and then did it masterfully until dusk -- I only developed the skills out of necessity. Once you've wasted your anaerobic resources, you have to do it skillfully, but I would not call it effortless, not for me, it was just something that with enough willpower and teeth grinding I could do for hours upon hours.