Stephen is back on the family farm and reminisces a list of colorful names of his family's animals, past and present.
Stephen Bishop Seely is an Actor, Writer, and Director.
For the next few weeks, I'm back on the farm taking care of the sheep while my parents go on vacation. For kicks, I've come up with a list a very creative names of some of the animals that have lived and thrived at the Seely Farm in Tonganoxie, Kansas over the years. I hope you enjoy reading this list as much as I enjoyed writing it.
10. Obama - A black crossbred ram that currently lives in an outside shed with his current girlfriend, Michelle, a Suffolk ewe. His current offspring includes Obama Junior who has the reign of the new barn.
9. Pebbles - Our trained Border Collie that lived on the farm for fifteen years until her death in the late 80's. Pebbles could round up a flock of sheep and herd them back to the barn all by a single command. She was very smart and worked the sheep until her dying day.
8. Mitzi - was my sister Shannan's ewe. Mitzi started as a bottle lamb in the basement and later grew up on the farm as a very smart animal. She could open gates and get into the feed room with very little effort. She had a very distinct "Baa". It was a cross between a sound that a sick cat makes and an old grumpy woman screaming after she loses her bloomers in a wind storm.
7. Charlotte - She was one of the few pigs that lived on our farm when I was little. She was my sister Stacy's pig that she would take care of and show at the Leavenworth County Fair.
6. Gorbachev - Was my psychology experiment mouse that stayed in a cage for a short while until it escaped and was later caught on a glue trap. A very sad ending to such a smart mouse. He had a marking on his little head and because of that resembled the U.S.S.R. leader and therefore his name was fitting.
5. Snickers - was my first Pygmy Goat. So adorable and so small. I believe to this day that everyone should own a Pygmy Goat once in their lifetime. Dad cursed out Snickers all the time, because Pygmy Goats love climbing new trees or knocking them down so they could eat the leaves at the top. Dad swears my Pygmy Goats killed hundreds of dollars worth of trees. I don't recall or choose to ignore those parts of my memory. Pygmy Goats are wonderful.
4. Rocky - was a rooster that was purchased at the Lawrence Auction for $11. He ended up being a trained fighting cock and would attack anyone who came into the barn to protect his hens and territory. The irony of this story is that Rocky ended up being a coyote's dinner one night after the months of terror he caused on the farm.
3. Bright Eyes - sent me to the hospital when I was around three or four years old. He was a mean ram with a big head. I got in a sheep's pen and started chasing them around and Bright Eyes decided he didn't like that too much so he butted me in the head where I was knocked unconscious. I was driven to the Lawrence Hospital until I recovered. Could explain my short term memory loss. Wait, what was I talking about?
2. Mr. D.I.R.T. - was a cat I saved from near death. As a kitten, Mr. Dirt was found on the dirt road in front of my house. I fed it back to life with a saucer of milk and Campbell's Chicken and Rice soup. We were surprised later that Mr. Dirt was actually a female when she grew up and had kittens of her own. By the way, D.I.R.T. stood for Disease Infested Rat Trap. Oh, how clever we were.
1. Sheba - won the Kansas State Fair as best Suffolk breeding yearling. This was a great honor. She was a beautiful ewe and ended up having many lambs on the Seely Farm where her legacy will live in infamy.
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Stephen Bishop Seely An actor, writer, director, producer, and dramaturg living in New York City. His roots are from a sheep farm in Tonganoxie, Kansas. www.stephenbishopseely.tumblr.com
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