Growing up as we did just seven miles north of Boston, farm animals were not part of our everyday life. Typical pets in our neighborhood were ones that lived indoors along with the rest of the family–dogs, cats, parakeets, turtles, and goldfish. Lots and lots of goldfish.
Still, my parents did their best to make sure we at had least a few encounters with horses, cows, sheep, pigs, and goats. We visited the Morgan Horse Farm in Vermont, agricultural fairs like the ones held in Topsfield (MA) and Sandwich (NH), and just about any farm that welcomed visitors. I was away at college by the time this photo was taken in 1977, but this is my brother visiting The Friendly Farm in Dublin, NH–just one town over from where I now live.