Blue Star Trading Post

Our Memorial Day Weekend tag sale was so successful that we decided to continue holding a tag sale all summer long to raise money for our vet bills!

We will be open every weekend throughout the summer: Saturday & Sunday 8am - 4pm. People are bringing new things every day. All proceeds go toward the care of the horses.



Come and look around! We are a tag sale without tags! If you see something you like, make a donation of whatever you think it's worth.

We have all kinds of things for sale: household items, electronics, exercise equipment, gift items, hardware, stationery, greeting cards, clothing, art work, books, toys, furniture and more. Something new comes every day.

While you're here, you might also want to take a ride on our horse-drawn carriage or hay wagon. We will be giving rides Saturday & Sunday from 12pm-4pm. Donations suggested.*



This is the ultimate in recycling programs! Come to the farm to buy items that others no longer want but that you need. Proceeds go to support the mission of Blue Star Equiculture.

Currently, Blue Star Equiculture is accepting items to be offered for sale, so it's time for some spring cleaning! Empty those closets, attics, basements and garages, buy locally from what would otherwise go unused, and fill up the horses' feed bins! Items to be sold at the tag sale can be dropped off at Blue Star Equiculture.



*Donations suggested to support the mission of Blue Star Equiculture. Blue Star Equiculture is a non-profit organization whose primary funding comes from the generosity of the general public. Donations go directly to the care of the horses. Click here to find out more.

Brave New World for Blue Star Horses

The cows have finally been moved, the pasture was cleaned up and prepared, and the Blue Star Equiculture herd at last made itself at home in the largest of our pastures.

Equine paradise!


(Don't worry girls--Cupcake won't eat ALL the grass! [Though he's going to try...]


(The whole herd checks out the pasture...all 14!)


(Jesse in the the clover.)


(Huey ponders the salad bar before him.)


(Peggy's winter foal coat is finally shedding!)


(Tom stretches his rather large legs!)


(Duchess)


(Chyna strikes up a trot)


(Mike the chaperone)

We're just here for the convenience store, not the pump...

On Memorial Day, the Blue Star gang took our Belgian Bloc (Duchess, Chyna and Tom) out for a drive into Three Rivers. Along the way, Tom had to stop to fill up the tank.

Memorial Day

Look back on our struggle for freedom,
Trace our present day's strength to its source;
And you'll find that man's pathway to glory
Is strewn with the bones of a horse.

~Anonymous

Blue Star Equiculture remembers the men, women and horses that have served our country and fought for our freedom.

(For a lighter Memorial Day remembrance, check out this article about USMC Staff Sergeant Reckless, a chestnut Korean race mare who valiantly carried ammunition for her unit in the Korean War.)

Wagons, ho!

The wagon and harness for Duchess and Chyna arrived on Friday. Lindsey took the girls out for their first trip in harness at Blue Star Equiculture.

She had Justin Morace, a carriage driver from Philadelphia, as her co-pilot.

Tom was quite happy to tag along pulling the carriage. Tom is quite enamored with the blonde Belgian beauties.

Wagon rides continue today and tomorrow as part of Blue Star Equiculture's official Grand Opening Tag Sale. There's still lots of great things to buy at the tag sale, so stop on by! The tag sale runs from 8 - 4 today and tomorrow. Wagon rides depart on the hour starting at noon today. The last ride today leaves at 6 pm. Wagon rides are free (donations are greatly appreciated by Duchess and Chyna).

Yay, warmth!

The soil has warmed and planting begun! Plenty of tasty veggies including, cucumbers and tomatos, are now in the womb of Mother Earth. May 30th is considered to be the last day for a potential freeze and hopefully our little guys have luck on their side.

The trees are blooming, the grass is becoming green, and very soon we will have access to a gorgeous pasture that even has a scenic creek that trickles through!










In other news, Huey Khan was graciously given a new warmblood-sized halter! Thank you Carol Redmund and Liza!

A Bonneville arrived May 14th as a donation to Blue Star Equiculture! And it is blue!!

As always, come have fun with equines as an Equiculture volunteer!

T-Shirts are here!

Our new t-shirts have arrived!

Suggested donation: $15 on site, $20 if shipped.

Visit our t-shirt page over on the main site!

All proceeds from the t-shirts will go directly to the care of our horses.

FREE Organics Workshop Saturday, May 16

THE SOIL IS ALIVE
Healthy soil = Healthy people

Blue Star Equiculture is offering a free organics workshop this Saturday, May 16, from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM. The presentation / discussion on organic soil, lawn and garden care will be led by Mother Earth Organics CEO Glenn Battin.

Topics covered will include

• Soil condition and feeding
• Microbial soil life
• Natural weed control and disease prevention
• 7 Keys to Healthy Soil

We look forward to seeing you there! Call (413)289-9787 for more information.

Memorial Day Grand Opening!

We're all eagerly waiting to welcome you officially to Blue Star Equiculture!



A new day has dawned. Spring has sprung. And Blue Star Equiculture announces its official "Grand Opening" to be held Memorial Day weekend, Saturday, May 23 through Monday, May 25.

Events will include a tag sale, wagon rides, meet-and-greets with the horses and BSE staff, and more! Stay tuned here or on our main website for more details!

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Looking for an easy way to help Blue Star Equiculture, clean out your closets and participate in communal recycling?

Donate items to the Blue Star Equiculture Memorial Day Weekend Tag Sale!

Blue Star Equiculture is looking for items to sell in our tag sale (that's a garage / yard sale for those of y'all not from New England)! Your donated items will help care for our horses and support our mission. Donations are being accepted at Blue Star Equiculture at Burgundy Brook Farm (3090 Palmer St., Palmer, MA 01069). Don't forget to stop by the tag sale May 23-25 and pick up things that you need that someone else didn't want! Recycle -- all proceeds from the tag sale will benefit Blue Star Equiculture.

Home, home on the Grange

(Promotional poster for the Grangers, 1873)

Today, Pam and Lindsey were invited to attend the monthly meeting of the Palmer chapter of the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry.

From the Massachusetts Grange:

The National Grange is the nation's oldest national agricultural organization, with grassroots units established in 3,600 local communities in 37 states. Its 300,000 members provide service to agriculture and rural areas on a wide variety of issues, including economic development, education, family endeavors, and legislation designed to assure a strong and viable Rural America. It was formed in the years following the American Civil War to unite private citizens in improving the economic and social position of the nation's farm population.

Over the past 137 years, it has evolved to include non-farm rural families and communities. The Grange is also a fraternal order known as the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, hence the "P of H" on the organization's logo. Founding members determined that a fraternal organization would be best able to combine loyalty and democratic ideals to provide service to others. The National Grange was one of the first formal groups to admit women to membership on the basis of equality with men. It remains so today.

The National Grange:

Since 1867, the National Grange, formally known as the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, has worked tirelessly for America’s family farmers and rural communities. Rural communities are the backbone of our nation and a key part of our national self-identity. Today, farming and rural communities face serious social and economic challenges. That’s why the National Grange is fighting to preserve family farms, rural communities and the rural lifestyles they represent, for generations to come!

When Rural Communities Decline, We All Lose:

• Family farmers and ranchers and the natural resources they faithfully nurture.
• The quality of life that comes from living in a community where your neighbors are also your friends and your primary support network.
• Responsive public officials who genuinely care about the concerns of local citizens because they live and work among them every day.
• The knowledge of traditional rural folk art, handicraft and homemaking skills.
• Local education with low student/teacher ratios and high parent involvement.
• Locally driven economic development opportunities for entrepreneurs.
• The “Can Do” tradition of rural community problem solving and volunteerism.

The Contributions of Vibrant Rural Communities are Irreplaceable!

You can make a difference. With your support, we can all help rural communities to be places where people want to live, work and raise their families in the 21 st Century.

The Grange sounds like an organization Blue Star Equiculture would be proud to join!