Why are there flowers in their pants?

My mother recently learned a lot about her family roots.
Someone traced them from Alabama back to Scotland in the 1600s.
How cool is that?

She also was given a lot of old, old, old family photos to scan and preserve.

We came across one that completely boggled our minds.

The man on the left is my great-great-grandfather, and I have no idea what he's doing.

So, I've decided to call on you guys to help me out.
What's going on in this photo?
I'm at a total loss.
It's so cool, but completely confusing.