A metaphor for cultural metamorphosis

There was a meadowbrook cart in the basement of our barn. It belongs to the landlords, who used to use it with their horses, but it had just been sitting under there, collecting dust. Kate, Glenn, James, Lindsey and Pam fixed it up last Friday.

Here's what happened, and what CAN happen with Blue Star Equiculture's larger mission.

The meadowbrook or our project to reconnect humans and horses with each other and with the earth... it's all part of the grand scheme...


When it was brought out into the light, we could see that it was covered in dust and dirt from years of being forgotten in the dark.




It was a little worse for wear--a few parts were missing or forgotten, but a bit of a brush off began to show what was underneath.




Once it was brought out into the light, people came together....




...the missing parts were brought and reunited...




With support and help, it was made whole again.




The grime of years of obscurity was washed clean.




The horses know what all this is about.




Ancient memory calls...




And insists upon the place of pride and honor.




Setting out on the road again.




Bringing along friends.




Making old knowledge new...and sharing it with others.




Going down a road we've been down before.




Something beautiful will bloom as we pass by...




And at last we'll find our way home again.

Quote of the Day

"I have always contended that the substitution of the internal combustion engine for the horse marked a very gloomy milestone in the progress of mankind."
(Sir Winston Churchill)

(Horse watering trough in Monson, Massachusetts, with the author's internal combustion engine and a classic red internal combustion engine. The trough was placed in 1882 by W.N. Flynt and the street surrounding it is Fountain St.)

(Bud on Rt. 181, about to pass between the concrete abutments of the Hampden Railroad ("The Railroad That Never Was"). Our farm lies on the other side.)

(The same place on Rt. 181 in November of 1912.)

When We Farmed With Horses

This wonderful documentary from 1978 shows horses at work, along with oral histories from the farmers who worked them.

(On YouTube, courtesy of Iowa State University's Special Collections.)

When We Farmed With Horses Part 1
WWFWH Part 2
WWFWH Part 3

The knowledge that these farmers and horses had is astounding.

We're still learning, and we can't wait to farm with horses ourselves.