The Old General Store
Farming History
Family-owned farms across America are quickly but quietly going by the wayside. Pushed by big-agri the small farmer is a dying breed. In 1900, 42 percent of the U.S. population lived on farms; by 1990 that number had dwindled to less than 2 percent. None of this is being helped by the U.S. Government's push of the death tax, which virtually assures that upon the death of the farmer his heirs have no choice but to sell the farm to pay the taxes.
I try to photographically document the many remains of small family-owned farms and the antiquated equipment that they have left behind, before it disappears.
Our Tiny Friends
"Beneath My Feet"
A Poem by Lee Hurley
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Was a time I cared not where my feet had stepped
I never once thought of what beneath me slept
Traveling the highways of weeds and grass
Lives a whole tiny world as fragile as glass
Insects and flowers of all sorts do glimmer
Upon closer inspection, they really shimmer
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With colors and shapes, they do adorn
Unimaginably beautiful from the day they are born
Yet with all this beauty, in some, they strike fear
Most won't even approach, they won't dare go near
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These tiny beings run away in a flash
If given a moment they'll make a quick dash
Some can be harmful, but that's really rare
Most are just timid and easy to scare
Their time is spent mostly just looking for food
And hope that others do not intrude
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Flowers give forth nectar they sweeten
They offer it forth so that it may be eaten
The insects pollinate the flowers and the trees
So next time you see one, say, thank you, please
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When after that step that you just took
Would have been better if had you taken a look
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Of all the creatures this world doth possess
Its the tiniest of them we seem to care less
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A world without them would be a world in distress
And you and I likely would have to confess
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That without the tiny creatures below where we pace
There would be no food for this great human race
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God placed us here with a purpose I've found
So please take a moment before placing your foot on the ground.
Lee Hurley
