Hard Life Remnants. The end of a hard life style, lost forever as the old barn crumbles away. Are we aware of what we really lose when a small family farm operation ends? We lose people who worked the land, often by hand, people who knew and understood livestock, and how to raise them, talents for repairing the machinery used to keep a farm operating. To be a successful farmer, you needed many talents and the will to work from sunup to sundown and in a lot of cases seven days a week. Businesses in local communities will suffer, farmers used grist mills, feed dealers, suppliers for equipment and tools like hardware stores and lumberyards. Hopefully this painting will be a reminder of the small farmers value to the community when it's viewed.