If you’re searching for a place to meet friendly farm animals near Boston—where kids can boop a horse’s nose, feed alpacas, and throw hay on a cow’s head—our family farm might be just the spot.
And just so you have some ice breakers and familiarity with these silly beasts before you do visit, I put together a blog post for you.
It’s hard to get anywhere as a small business without a solid team behind you. Unfortunately for me, that team consists of a bunch of farm animals and a baby. Nevertheless, I’d like to give you a chance to get to know the Corey Flint Photography Farm Animal And Baby Team (or C.F.P.F.A.B.T., which is also a fart noise if pronounced phonetically.) If you have your photo session on our farm there are farm animals near Boston that you can meet!
Harriet
AKA Hattie, aka Hattie Mayonaise, aka Patty, aka Patricia, aka Patricia Mayonaise
Hattie has a lot going for her as an employee: She’s gregarious, unafraid, independent, and approachable. On the down side, she regularly spits right in my face and it ruins my day every time. I have to go take a shower afterward, it’s truly horrible (don’t worry she has only done this to me and not photo clients.) She also has a hard time following directions, as can be seen here. All that aside, I love her very much, and consider her an asset to our Boston family photography team.
Winnifred and Louise
AKA Winnie and Louise, aka Ruth and Rosemary, aka The Golden Girls
I’m grouping these two together because they’re always together and move as a unit. It’s great to have employees that work well together, but I do have concerns about their chemistry on a personal level. In fact, I’d go so far as to classify their relationship as downright unhealthy at times. There’s a lot of spitting, biting, and angry gurgling noises exchanged between them throughout the day. But maybe that’s just a form of alpaca codependency that I don’t understand. I’m not a camelid psychologist.
Louise is a bit of a diva. She is the best looking of the three alpacas, but clearly expects to coast through life using her looks alone. She is nice to everyone except me, so that’s a pro, but even the way she walks is stuck up.
Winnie is the clear leader of the group and is always on the lookout for danger. She will be the first to let out a warning call when a threat is nearby, whether that’s the dogs she sees every day of her life or a suspicious-looking tree branch. She’s not as easy on the eyes as Louise, but having a leader in the alpaca division is a great asset to our team.
Mae
AKA Mae Bean aka Miss Maezelton aka Maybe it’s Mae the Queen
Mae brings a lot to the table. She is determined, outspoken, and naturally curious. She also has a hunger for knowledge (and blueberries), which she feeds by investigating everything first-hand. Mae also contributes a lot of intangible benefits to the work environment. You just can’t help but smile when she’s around, and she has an absolutely contagious laugh.
That being said, I don’t think a single work day has gone by where she didn’t poop in her pants. She could also use some improvement in following directions, and has been known to scream at the top of her lungs for no apparent reason. She also leaves the lunch area a total mess, but luckily our next featured employee helps with cleanup.
Monte
AKA Mister Moon, aka The Good Time Boy, aka Dingo Doggo
Monte is an Australian cattle dog, which means he is a mixture of a blue merle, a wild dingo, and a Tasmanian devil. He is very extra. We got him from a friend of a friend who decided to buy a cattle dog without doing any reading about what that entails. They tried to keep him in a crate most of the day and in response he made their lives very difficult, but through good fortune he landed with us and has been a very happy dog ever since.
Monte has a lot of strong suits. He is extremely hard working, especially when it comes to chasing down errant tennis balls and frisbees (which could pose a serious hazard if left ungotten.) Monte is also fiercely loyal, tireless, and gentle. Most work trainings with him have gone well, but he needs improvement when it comes to personal boundaries. It’s not workplace appropriate behavior to greet people by trying to kiss them on the mouth and shoving your nose into their crotch.
The Cows
AKA The cows
Flint Farm used to be mainly a small beef cattle operation, raising these Oreo-looking bovines known as Belted Galloways, a breed from Scotland. But, like lots of things in farming, it made no money and no one wanted to raise animals for meat because it’s a huge bummer. So the herd was sold and sent away, except for five cows. This was a tight friend group, several of which were bottle-fed as calves so we kept them as very expensive, borderline useless pets.
Honestly, I’m pretty disappointed in the cows’ work performance. They contribute little to team discourse, but are very quick to voice their complaints, which usually relate to food. Really their sole contribution is their manure, which they refuse to manage themselves and rely on others to pick up for them. They also love to knock over my light stands when I leave them out in the field. If they didn’t have strong ties with the owners’ family, the Boston family photography team here would probably have let them go a long time ago.
The Horses
AKA Clark, Mac, King, Calvin, and some other ones
My sister in law, Sarah, runs a horseback riding program here on the farm, and it’s very important if you’re going to have a horseback riding program that you have horses. There are 7 horses living on the farm. Or 8. I should know this but I don’t. Anyway the horses are there and they are beautiful, majestic, and grand because they are horses.
Horses are absolutely team players. After all, they let humans ride around on their backs. They are also strong, resilient, and usually don’t kick anyone in the head. However, they are also very high maintenance. They have people come brush their hair for them, and apparently they need new shoes every 4-6 weeks.
A Whole Bunch of Other Beings
AKA about a dozen adults, 7 total cats, a goat, and a mob of angry geese. Plus more.
I should mention that a lot of hands go into making the farm operate, and that the farm doesn’t make any money. Sometimes I wonder why we work hard all spring and summer to bring in hay and grow corn and pumpkins in order to make zero dollars. But then I remember that throwing hay around is a good core workout. Also, it’s more about tradition and connecting with the land than having financial stability. So Sue and a dozen or so of her family members living in and around the farm all chip in to keep things running and to make sure we at least don’t make less than no money.
In addition, there are a buttload of cats, one single goat, and every year our cow pond is inundated with a christmas of geese (this is an actual term someone decided can be used to describe a group of geese.) We also have barn swallows that help keep the flies in check (very helpful). And killdeer that lay eggs that look like rocks out in the field and we have to find them and mark them with flags so we don’t run them over (unhelpful.) There are owls, foxes, and coyotes that help control rodents (very helpful). And deer that eat just enough of every pumpkin to ruin it instead of finishing the whole damn pumpkin (really, really not helpful.)
? Why Visit Our Farm?
If you’re looking for a place where your kids can meet real farm animals near Boston—without the crowds, the lines, or the overstimulation—welcome to our little corner of the world.
Flint Farm is tucked away in Lincoln, MA, just about 30 minutes from the city, but it feels like a total escape. Families come here for photos, yes—but they stay for the alpacas, the chickens, and the quiet charm of a working farm that’s been in our family for 12 generations.
Your little ones can feed alpacas (they’re polite snackers), collect eggs from our free-range chickens (if the hens are feeling generous), or just run wild in the open fields and say hi to our resident barn cat. There are tractors to climb on, nature trails to explore, and plenty of room to breathe.
This isn’t a commercial petting zoo—it’s better. It’s slower. Quieter. And somehow, more magical. Whether you’re here for a photo session or just hoping to introduce your toddler to a real live chicken for the first time, you’re welcome.
Just give us a heads-up before you come by—we like to keep things relaxed and personal around here.
My father was Donald Whitney and his first first cousin was Warren Flint. His aunt was Edith Whitney Flint . We would visit your farm now and then since we lived close by in Wellesley Hills. My sister and I remember Warren, Margaret, Peggy and the boys and animals! My father worked on the farm with Warren in the summer. Please contact me!
We are family. Please reply. My grandmother was Sadie Ann Forte Whitney. She and Edith were sister-in-laws and also great friends!