Hi. Hi! I’m here, and you’re here, and I have something to share. And it’s about Charlie. Everything begins and ends with Charlie, and begins again… 

Ok. So, when I last left off here a few years ago, I was spinning. When Charlie left this realm, I became obsessed with spinning his wool as a way to feel close to him. But I was not about to spin his wool until I got really, really good at spinning. So I spun a ton of not-Charlie’s wool. I spun all sorts of different sheep’s wool, yak, silk, all sorts of fibers. 

And by the time I felt accomplished as a spinner, I no longer felt the urgency to spin Charlie’s wool for my broken heart, or to try to heal my broken heart. I had moved through the acute period of grief at that point. And I didn’t know what I was meant to do with his fur. I didn’t know what project it was meant to be used in, I didn’t know how I was meant to honor Charlie in this way. So, I kept it in the freezer. 

And then, the reason came to me. The reason just came to me last week. And this is what I’m sharing with you. But to do so, I need to jump to the other side of my life, which is cows, and raising beef, and keeping them out of the system.

A couple of years ago, I was invited to be part of something really incredible. There was a federal program called the Local Food Purchase Assistance grant. And this was specifically for food banks to buy food from local farmers and ranchers, to then give away. The program supported small producers and local economies across the country, and all the people who face food insecurity and are assisted by food banks.

The Food Bank of Wyoming received this grant, and I was the first person they called to partner with. Through this grant, the Food Bank of Wyoming bought sixteen thousand pounds of Star Brand Beef. It was an incredible experience, one of the most fulfilling things I’ve been part of.

This program was cut by Trump last year and it no longer exists. Last year, food banks across the country lost over a billion dollars in federal funding. On an already small budget, it’s not like food banks had the military budget. And a billion of it is gone.

There’s a bunch of stuff going on in my life that won’t fit in this post, but the short version is that delivering Star Brand Beef is just not possible this year. The cattle market is so high, the highest it’s been in decades, and I could take my steers to the sale barn and make as much as I did selling Star Brand Beef. But the thought of doing that destroys me. I’ve spent so much of my time and energy working towards keeping cattle out of the feedlot system. I wrote an entire book about this! I did not know what to do. 

And then Charlie came to me. And was like, ‘Hey, use my fur. It’s time to use my fur.’

I’m laughing and getting weepy as I type this.

I want to spin Charlie’s wool for you. I want to create one of a kind art for you, imbued with his one of a kind essence. And I want to do that in order to pay for my steers, and donate them to the food bank.

So. I am finally spinning and weaving and knitting Charlie’s fur — the incredibly soft downy fur I brushed from him every spring when he shed — and I am sharing it with you. I am thrilled to be sharing it with you. I really think it’s meant to be shared.

Every five thousand dollars I make through this venture is a thousand pounds of humanely raised, grass-finished beef I will be able to donate to the food bank, and keep out of the abusive feedlot system, and give to those who are really struggling right now with food insecurity.

This week, I’ve been playing with his fur for the first time since putting it in the freezer, and spinning it, creating with it, and it has filled me with such reverence. The power of his energy is so potent! It’s in this fur! It’s hard to put into words. I feel him often, I always have these past almost six years. But this is something different. A different kind of magic.

If you would like to see what I’m offering, if you would like to have some of this special coyote magic in your home or on your body, CLICK HERE. 

Questions? Feel free to email me. 

And I think I’ll be sharing more here again soon. It feels like it’s time.

six years ago: Flower Child
seven years ago: Lushness
eight years ago: Warble
nine years ago: Livin’s Easy
ten years ago: Leeetle Marshmallow
eleven years ago: Rockin’ Out
twelve years ago: Dirty Window