Ballyknockmilliedoon

This is where we live. It’s not really called Ballyknockmilliedoon but that’s pretty close. My husband and I are the luckiest people in the world (don’t worry if you think you’re luckier – we won’t argue with you). We’re living in Ireland for a couple of years and we live in a 200-year-old stone cottage at the end of the road. Well, it’s not really the “end” of the road, but it turns to gravel after our place.

It’s a big ‘ole estate with cows, horses, wheat fields, pheasants, badgers and hedgehogs (yep, hedgehogs). There’s even a river, from which I caught my first ever brown trout. Our closest (human) neighbors are the owners of the place and they’re about a 10-minute walk away. The estate is bounded by an old stone wall and there’s a big, iron gate that prevents just about everyone but the mailman from getting in. Quiet is an understatement. All this and we're only 20 minutes outside of Dublin.

The estate has some interesting history involving nasty landed gentry and some underground tunnels dug to facilitate an easy escape from the, understandably, angry Irish folk. Our cottage is right next to the old, cobblestoned stables and, if you’re really quiet, you can still hear the click-clack of horses and carriage on the stones. It’s pretty cool and creepy. A cab driver once told us that Michael Collins used to hide out here during “the troubles”…but I’ll bet he says that to all the ‘yanks.

Last night I was sitting outside, soaking up the quiet, and I realized it wasn’t that quiet after all. First I heard the heavy hoof steps and exhales of the new stallion anxiously exploring his new stomping ground. Then there was something rummaging around our compost pile…a badger maybe? I couldn’t see. Then there was a tiny, chaotic rustling under the hedgerow and a rotund little hedgehog ambled out into the moonlight. Hedgehogs make for perfectly delightful neighbors. My goal is to get a picture of one…if I do I’ll surely post it.

So this is where we live. I realize it may not be for everybody but it’s perfect for us.