Busy times in Newberg!

Just to catch up!

Newberg Old Fashioned Festival was a couple weeks ago. We didn't go to the parade of course, but we were thinking about going to the fireworks. Then Alan, across the street, told us his band was playing, so we decided to walk down to the park to hear the music and then go to the fireworks. We ended up sitting next to our neighbor Emil and his son, and in the row behind Alan's whole family - brother, sister, grand kids, et al. I tried to get a good picture, but Alan is the drummer and he was way in the back, and the guitar guy kept stepping in front of him. You can sort of see in these photos....















Last weekend, Kaylee came to visit us. We went to Champoeg to the Saturday Living History event. They have these every weekend in the summer. This one was Grain Harvest Day. Wheat and corn. The kids got to grind the wheat into flour and the corn into cornmeal. Then there was a churning demonstration, and to top it all off, they baked fresh cornbread in a dutch oven over a fire and we got to sample it with fresh churned butter.
Here's Kaylee grinding flour:

Then we went for a hike, about 3 miles each way, to Butteville, for ice cream at the famous Butteville Store. Kaylee says next time we have to ride bikes!

Chicken Sadness

I was in Ashland last night. When Rich got home from work he couldn't find Elizabeth anywhere. When he was headed over to Lyda's to get James at bedtime, he saw a pile of red feathers in the yard next door. We think a hawk got her. She wasn't laying yet, so while the other 2 were in the nest, she was probably out wandering around by herself. She was so sweet. Makes me glad I was nice to her. After we got home from Scotland we were picking blueberries. She was hanging out with us, very quietly so she wouldn't have to let the others know where she was and share. Every time a blueberry dropped on the ground, she nailed it. I dropped a whole bunch on purpose for her.

Chickens

So at the time we left for Scotland, as you will recall, we had only recently discovered that we actually had 2 roosters, and only 3 hens. They were all pretty much full grown, but not fully mature. The roosters had only just begun to crow. They all hung out with each other all day in a little group. Henry was a really sweet rooster and would almost let us pet him.

While we were in Scotland, the roosters came of age. When Sarah and Shawn showed up on June 30, Henry charged them. He came up behind and pecked at them a few other times as well.

When we got to the Newark Airport, we had a voice mail from our neighbors, Jack and Sandy Lyda, the ones we got the chickens from in the first place. They said one of our roosters had found his way over there and wasn't leaving. So we called them and said we'd talk to them Monday evening.

When we got home, we learned that Henry had gotten so aggressive he essentially chased Jane James away. Jack was bringing him back over every night and putting him in our coop, but first thing in the morning he would run lickety split back over there. They have several hens, but they really didn't want a rooster, and quickly got rid of the few new chickens they kept that turned out to be roosters.

So, big dilemma. I didn't know what to do, as I really liked both of them. Before we left for Scotland they would come and crow at my window to wake me up. When I went out to the yard they came running, in a happy friendly way.

Now, Henry started coming up behind me and attacking. Okay, Henry, enough was enough. I put an ad on Craig's list and last Saturday morning gave him away to a very nice couple with a big farm and 6 hens. An email from them confirms he is happy and his new hens like him.

Big bad Henry before he went to his new home:

So, back to the James problem. We tried keeping him in the coop Sunday morning, but about 11:00 or so, Victoria was crazy to lay an egg, which she likes to do in the hay bin of the sheep house (yes, at least 2 of them started laying). So Victoria found a hole in the fence and got out, and James was right behind her. He then went running as fast as he could (which is REALLY fast) back over to Lyda's. So Rich has been going over every night and getting him and putting him in the coop, again. In the morning, Rich lets them out of the coop when he leaves, and then I go out and feed them and let them out of their yard when I leave. Monday, James was gone in a flash. Tuesday, he hung around and ate a little and was still here when I left for work. When I got home, he was over in their yard, but I could see him from our sheep yard. I called him and he responded to my voice. I lured him over finally - he jumped through the fence and raced back over here. I was amazed. But then, within probably 3 minutes, he chased down each one of our hens and had his way with them. They were not happy ladies.

Then, he ran back over to his other girl friends.

Tuesday night and Wednesday night we went and got him. Rich brought him in to the house so I could give him a talking to on Wednesday night:
Tonight, we went over to get him, and he was actually outside of their fence, looking like he was on his way back over here! So I called him and Rich followed behind him, and he actually came home and ran into the coop by himself. So we might be making progress!

Except I put an ad on Craig's List earlier in the evening. No responses yet. I guess we'll see what happens.

Meanwhile, Mary (the banty) is laying one perfect little tiny brown egg every day, and Victoria is laying a slightly bigger brown egg about every 2 - 3 days. Elizabeth, the red auracana, has not started laying, or is hiding them. They will be green. I don't think she is laying yet.

Chickens are fascinating. We are having fun with them, even though....

Our Cousin Jeanne

Today we drove from Inveraray to Campbeltown. On the way, we decided, based on a blurb in the guidebook, to stop at an old Abbey that was also something to do with the Macalister Clan. It sounded like an interesting place with nice grounds.We arrived and parked. Then we went up to the door and you had to ring the bell, which we did. A woman answered and asked if we wanted the tour of the house. We asked how long it would take and she said about 45 minutes. We sort of hesitated, as we were somewhat anxious to get to Campbeltown, thinking maybe the distillery would be open, even on Sunday. She sort of scolded us for being in a hurry, saying, "Americans are always in a hurry." Then she added, "I'm an American." Sue then said, "Of course, because we can understand you." Then Sue explained that we had spent a lot of time in Stonehaven researching our Barclay heritage. The woman looked at us strangely, and said, "You aren't Barclays, are you?" As it turns out, she is also a Barclay. Traced back to the same line as us, earlier than the Barclays who went to America. She has been in all the places in Stonehaven, including the mausoleum on the Ury Estate that we were unable to find. And she had pictures. She is the widow of the last Macalister Laird, who died a couple years ago.

So she invited us in to join a tour with two ladies that she already had in progress, and then she said she would show us her Barclay information. So we joined the tour of this beautiful house, with all kinds of mementos and artifacts and stuff. Then she showed us this room:

So what we learned is that she is 81 years old, from the east coast of the US and lived in California for a long time. She met her husband at a gathering of the clans, and married him in 1985 or so. She is a hand quilter and a collector. She took us into her private part of the house and showed us all her Barclay information, and made some copies of things for us. In her living room, she has heart things hanging on the walls (Sue has some photos of those that I will upload later), Country Living magazines, collections of duck decoys, and quilted stuffed hearts. It was uncanny. More photos:Baba made several quilts of this very same pattern. Sue and I both have one somewhere.

More of Jean's quilts:
And finally, the three "cousins" together:

Ancestral Home

In Stonehaven, Scotland, we are finding out lots of information about our Barclay ancestors. This is a photo of the house on the Urie estate, occupied by our Barclays in the 1600's and 1700's. This house is not the original built by the Barclays, but is built on the same site and we think must have some of the original on it somewhere. It is currently being restored, but work has stopped due to lack of funds. More on all this later when we get photos sorted out and stuff. We tromped all around this estate. Had to park on the outside and walk through. Working on uploading some photos to Picasa album but too late tonight. Tomorrow we head to Aberdeen and then a very roundabout route to end up in Pitochry. We're going to check out the Towie Barclays on the way. Distantly related somehow.

But we know for sure that our Thomas Barclay who went to America in the 1700's is the son of David Barclay of Cheapside who founded Barclay's Bank.

The Scottish Army Recruitment Center

After a fun Saturday night out in Stirling observing the men dressed up in kilts, Rich thought it would be fun to join the Scottish Army because part of the deal is they give you a kilt.

(I'm on a lousy internet connection. More later when we get somewhere with a better connection.)

Bye Bye, George

Since we got rid of that big goat we had, Capricorn, George has become progressively more obnoxious. He butted the other goats and wouldn't let them eat. The last straw was earlier this week when he pounded against the gate in their shed that separated the goat/sheep area from the grain and hay storage area, until he had successfully broken the latch and opened the gate. He let everyone into the storage area, where they ate a bunch of alfalfa, trampled the chicken feed bag, trampled the hay and straw and made a big mess. They also left goat and sheep poops on the platform of the new chicken coop Rich is building, which is attached to the goat/sheep shed. Plus, his little hoarse voice has been growing louder, and he has been more demanding, and starts yelling at us at about 3:00 to be fed, and doesn't stop until we feed him his molasses coated grain. Enough was enough. I put an ad on Craig's List and sold him for $15, to a good home in Carlton where his companion animals will be a horse and an old dog. Too bad so sad for George, who we loved and hated at the same time. But it is a relief to have him gone. The other animals behave much better!