My Finnish grandpa was a farmer too. Potatoes, grain, cows (dairy). Nobody works harder than a farmer. Charming portrait, this! You must have felt choked-up sometimes, home again after years away. Cheers, Svend
Thanks to all of you for your really nice comments! I appreciate it.
Svend - you're right about working hard! Now that he's been retired for 20 years his hands have softened some. But I remember when he was 74 years old and dug out a 2m by 1m, (6ft by 3ft), big hole for some sort of pump at his son's house (my uncle), that needed to be about 1.5m (5ft) deep. He did that by hand, with a shovel, without taking a break, in about 2 and a half hours.
The whole family had gathered to do some work on my uncle's house, and the rest of us had stopped for lunch, grilling hot dogs, sitting in the shade drinking soda and recovering - all while grandpa was out there digging. Farmers work harder than anybody else, AND have an incredible work ethic. You don't take lunch until you've earned it, or something like that.