The 4H Animal Auction at the 2021 Hopkinton Fair was a resounding success. Ten 4H club members had spent six months to over a year raising and tending the animals in the auction.

Even though August – "New Hampshire Eats Local Month" – is over, eating local is a 365-day celebration in the Granite State. There is still time to savor the power of local food that connects us all. Don't forget that when the summer markets end, there are numerous winter markets to visit or, better yet, find a local farm to support. Miles Smith Farm and many other farms are open year-round, and some, like ours, offer home delivery.

The only thing better than life on Miles Smith Farm is taking a road trip once in a while – even if it means towing a trailerful of cattle behind the pickup.

Farming is hard work, but it can be exciting and picturesque – especially for kids. Family farms are fewer these days, but plenty of grownups still cherish memories of sunny, sweaty summers amid crops and livestock.

It is a lucky child who grows up on a farm with cows to milk and a loft filled with hay for games of hide and seek. Just as fortunate is the child who spends the summers on a cattle or sheep farm run by grandparents, an uncle, or maybe a great aunt. That child might witness the miracle of a calf being born or even help a ewe give birth to twins or triplets. Then there are chores, like cleaning stalls and feeding pigs, that help build character and teach responsibility.

I can see the merits of an imaginary horse. Eight-year-old me had the joy of an imaginary pony with no hard work to keep him fed and housed.