In the first part of the story, before Rip Van Winkle falls asleep, he neglects his farm. "In a word, Rip was ready to attend to anybody’s business but his own; but as to doing family duty, and keeping his farm in order, he found it impossible." Rip thinks it is useless to work on his farm because the land is no good and something inevitably goes wrong. But Rip is much more interested in working and helping his neighbors. He also looks for any excuse to get away from his wife. So, he tries to get away from his home and farm whenever he can. Whether his land is good or not, it is neglect that allows his farm to deteriorate. He would much rather fish, hunt, or talk leisurely with the men in town. As a result, his land withers:
. . . so that though his patrimonial estate had dwindled away under his management, acre by acre, until there was little more left than a mere patch of Indian corn and potatoes, yet it was the worst-conditioned farm in the neighborhood.
Rip was not a fan of hard work when it was his own. But he would help his neighbor even if that required hard labor. He did whatever he could to avoid his own farm.
When Rip wakes up from his twenty year long sleep, his house and farm have decayed, having been even more neglected than when he was awake.
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