Sid. And So Much More.
☆ May 3, 2016
I’m sitting on the kitchen floor, writing this on the blank back page of the phone book. I have a calf in my kitchen, and I’ve spent the majority of the weekend on the kitchen floor, myself. I’ve lost count of how many calves I’ve rescued or bottle fed or warmed back to life with towels and a warm fire, but each time, it feels like the most special responsibility.
This calf was born Saturday morning, a twin, and his mother only accepted one calf (which is normal). Mike delivered the calf to me, saying “I know you’re so busy but can you take care of this?” And I was like, “Forget work! Forget email! Forget my Kickstarter! Give me that baby!” And I spent the weekend on the kitchen floor, first drying off the baby with towels, then warming some of my frozen stash of Daisy’s colostrum to bottle-feed him every few hours, then brushing him with a horse brush, then…. I don’t even know. It’s easy to just be with a baby.
I put Chloe on babysitting duty when I managed to tear myself away and retreat to my office. Chloe is slightly smaller than the calf and absolutely in love with him. She licks his face when he is awake and sleeps beside him when he sleeps. I feel it’s important he’s not left completely alone the first few days. This week, he’ll move into the front yard, and later he’ll join the rest of the cows – but I will keep bottle-feeding him.
Yesterday, Mike and were talking about how we wish he could be a kitchen calf forever, and possible names, and he mentioned Sid. Which I loooove. This is Sid. His eyes are iridescent gray.
Totally and completely related: Animal Cruelty Is The Price We Pay For Cheap Meat. If you eat meat, please read this. If you’re vegan and don’t understand why I started Star Brand Beef, please read this. My animals are deeply loved and I care for them with devotion. My mission in life is to give them a stress-free life. To make sure they are able to roam free on pasture and stay healthy on their natural diet of grass and hay. Star Brand Beef is the antithesis of factory-farmed meat. Pay a little bit more, eat a little bit less, and make a HUGE difference in the lives of the animals and the industry at large. Customers create change.
Mike was at the brewery and ran into a man who runs a feedlot in a neighboring town. This man was furious about the “all natural grass fat” trend. He said it was affecting his business. When Mike told me this I jumped for joy. Because I am no longer the only one around here doing what I’m doing. There are now a number of other local ranchers building their own niche businesses and keeping their cattle from going to feedlots. The fact that this kind of change is happening in my rural Wyoming county, to the extent that the local (albeit small) feedlot is feeling the effect? This is THRILLING.
HERE is my Star Brand Beef delivery route. Get yourself a chest freezer. Order the best, in bulk. Trust me, you’ll never go back to grocery store meat.
My Kickstarter ends Friday! If you would like any of the rewards – the postcard pack, the silk cowboy scarf, the Wyoming care package, a hand-painted skull – BACK THE KICKSTARTER! I will not, repeat, will not have these items in my Shop after the Kickstarter! Or, if you’d like to adopt a cow, you can do that through my Kickstarter, too. Sid is a perfect example. He will never be Star Brand Beef because milk replacer (baby formula for calves) is not organic. He will never be sold into The System because I just can’t do that. He will be among our Special Project cattle. As I state in my Kickstarter: They each take on valuable roles within the herd. This isn’t a “cost efficient” way to run a ranch (because it’s part animal sanctuary), but we wouldn’t have it any other way.
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5
☆ April 26, 2016
1) I was out saying hello to the horses and by the time I got to Kota, he was lying down. So I tentatively lowered myself onto his back, not knowing if he’d let me sit on him like the cows do, and he was happy to have me there. I braided his mane and rubbed his neck, and then – then! – he lay all the way down – head flung back with his cheek in the dirt – and fell asleep. With me sitting on top of him for the first time. Why are animals able to trust us so much more completely than we trust eachother?
2) Latest obsession: peppermint honey. This does not taste like peppermint candy – it’s almost savory. It is rich and deep and very hard to describe, but the difference between this honey and wildflower honey is like the difference between caramel and granulated sugar. It is divine.
3) Latest reefer fantasy: a VW bus-truck with a reefer box in the back. There are many reasons why this can never happen, primarily a) not enough room, b) even if there were enough room, the rear axle couldn’t handle the weight, c) even if the rear axle could handle the weight, vintage VW buses are way outside my budget. But wouldn’t it be the cutest?
4) Without fail, every time I garden, I draw blood. I do not understand this. Vespa-ing cross country? Cuddling a coyote? Riding a bull? Chopping wood drunk? Nary a scratch. But gardening leaves me bleeding on a daily basis.
5) Hibiscus sun tea: one scant handful of dried hibiscus flowers + one gallon jar of H2O + one sunny day. Store this hot pink elixir in the fridge and guzzle after sweaty, bloody gardening sessions. Sweeten with simple syrup if the tea is too tart for your taste. So much better than Monsanto juice (aka pop, aka soda).
Collected Thoughts
☆ April 19, 2016
Last night, I set up the blog page on my Star Brand Beef website and copied over some relevant posts regarding my philosophy behind Star Brand Beef.
I enjoyed re-reading these posts, some dating back to 2012, and thought you might, too. This one is my favorite – and even though it’s four years old, I vividly remember writing it, and it still holds true.
My Star Brand Beef Kickstarter!
☆ April 6, 2016
I lauched a Kickstarter! Click HERE to check it out!
What is a Kickstarter? Some use it for fundraising, some use it for pre-orders. I am using it for both! My goal is to get a reefer trailer for Star Brand Beef deliveries. I am offering some great rewards – special edition products I have never had in my shop before and will likely not have again. The Kickstarter lasts for one month. Then, poof!
I put my heart and soul into this. I really hope you enjoy the video and will help me spread the word. I don’t consider this Kickstarter to be just about me and Star Brand Beef – I hope it will help spread the message and mission of humanely-raised meat and continue to “kickstart” that conversation. Har har. I launched the Kickstarter yesterday to the Star Brand Beef mailing list, and we’ve already met my goal! And we made it to the “What’s Popular” food page on the Kickstarter site! This is really thrilling. Anything and everything the Kickstarter brings, above and beyond the goal amount, will go straight into improving and expanding Star Brand Beef.
I apologize in advance for the Kickstarter pimping I’ll be doing for the next month – as I said, I put my heart and soul into this and I want to see it fly. If you’re not on the Star Brand Beef delivery route, or if you don’t eat meat but want to help change the status quo of the industry, please consider checking out my Kickstarter, backing it if you see something you like, and sharing the link. I’m hoping the the Kickstarter will be a catalyst for discussion and contribute to the expanding awareness of the conventional meat industry, of feedlots, of the treatment of the animals that produce and become our food, and how all of that needs to change. I want people – consumers and ranchers alike – to see that there are other options, really great options that support the autonomy of ranchers and the welfare of animals and the environment.
And just in case I haven’t offered enough links, click HERE to visit my Kickstarter!
If you’re interested in ordering Star Brand Beef and missed the email blast yesterday, here’s the latest and greatest:
★ 2016 DELIVERY ROUTES ★
The 2016 delivery routes are posted HERE. Chicago, I’m coming back! Phoenix, I’m coming back! California, I’ll always love you! With a successful Kickstarter, I hope to be able to do SO MUCH MORE in coming years, including more routes and smaller FedEx orders.
★ BUTCHERY APPRENTICESHIP ★
This winter, I spent a few weeks apprenticing with my butcher. What an education. I learned so much! I’ve made some changes to the standard mini and quarter order cut lists based on my new knowledge. You can see the cut lists for mini and quarter orders HERE. As always, half and whole beef orders may be fully customized by the customer, and I am happy to answer any questions or give suggestions if needed/desired.
★ 2016 ORDERING ★
My early bird beef specials on the Kickstarter sold out almost instantaneously – but my exceptional, humanely-raised beef and lamb is still available through my Star Brand Beef website and Shop. If you gather a few “partners in dine” and split a whole or half together, you will get the same discounted pricing as the early bird specials!
Pricing on smaller orders went up this year. It had to happen; I’ve been staving it off as long as I could. I really like the pricing situation I came up with: larger orders come with larger savings. You can still get my original, heavily discounted pricing when ordering a whole beef, and darn close to it when ordering a half.
If you are on a budget: Gather everyone you know and go in on a whole or half together! It’s so do-able. Cooperation is my new obsession and motto – it makes the impossible possible! I am happy to cut whole beef orders the same way I cut minis to make it super easy to split up amongst a big group once you get it. Eight people at $690 each = the same amount of beef as a mini, per person, at a huge discount. With a half beef, you only need three other people.
And lamb is back for the second year! And it is already almost sold out…. so, please act quickly if you’d like lamb.
Thank you all, so much – none of this would be possible without your support and enthusiasm and encouragement and your trust in me.
★ THE KICKSTARTER ★
★ THE STAR BRAND BEEF WEBSITE ★
Nova, Nori, & Flurina
☆ April 5, 2016
We have more babies!
I’m using your names now!
Here are some terrible photos of their rollicking frolicking…..
(one of them has a white patch, smaller than Ixchel’s but in the same place, so Nova works for her as the name was intended… yay)
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