Fly time

No, I mean time flies.  Here we are, Tuesday again.  Already.  It's amazing how fast the old tempus does fugit.  Of course, I realise that it might not actually be Tuesday where you are, or when you are reading this, but right here and now it is Tuesday.  Well, in point of fact, it's not.  It's yesterday.  (Was it not the Carpenters who sang about yesterday once more?)  You see, today - that is, tomorrow - is due to be a busy day so I thought to steal a march on myself and start drafting something to post tomorrow - or today, if you see what I mean.

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Over the weekend I discovered that my great great great great uncle Henry had travelled to California is search of gold.  He was born in eighteen-oh-something and left his native Norfolk (that's Norfolk, England, not Norfolk, Virginia) for the New World.  He settled at Hounsfield, a small township in Jefferson county, New York state, where he farmed.  In 1850 he had 40 acres of land on which he kept 4 horses, 2 milch cows, 3 other cattle, 30 sheep and 2 swine.  The farm's produce during the previous 12 months included 130 pounds of wool, 60 bushels of Irish potatoes, 50 bushels of barley and 400 pounds of butter.  As well as great uncle Henry and his wife, the farm had to support seven of their children.  By 1860, Henry was farming 160 acres, 145 of which had been "improved", and he had 6 horses, 20 milch cows, 14 other cattle, 7 sheep and 6 swine. There is a clue as to how he managed to acquire so much more land in a newspaper cutting somebody has found.  Unfortunately, they note neither the name of the paper nor the date of publication.

It seems that as well as being a farmer, Henry was a stonemason.  Or perhaps he was a stonemason first and did a little farming on the side.  According to one source I have seen, he built the sidewalks in Sackets Harbor, New York, but the newspaper cutting tells how he went to California in about 1851 with a band of 30 men and 40 wagons.  The party passed through 17 different tribes of Indians and took seven months on the journey.  In California, Henry practised his trade as well as digging for gold.  He is credited with having built the best stone building in San Francisco at that time.  Having accumulated a tidy sum, he returned to New York and bought more land.

Maybe if Skip has a few minutes to spare next time he is in the city, he could track down Henry's building?

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Talking of Skip, I tried to obtain one of those fly splatter guns.  Seems they are being shipped to the States only.

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I know it's not New England standard, but the autumn foliage in Withdean Park looked attractive in the sun on Sunday morning.