I must confess I've never been to the States so I have probably got a bunch of totally wrong impressions from watching too many Hollywood films over the years.

Equally,many of you may not have been to Ireland & think we still go into town on the donkey.LOL.

So here is a quick sketch of my neighbourhood in Rural Ireland.

Nearest house 400 yards away,separated by small fields of an acre or two.Each field is bounded by dry stone walls & is used for grazing beef cows * Belgium Blue bulls.Last count there was 107 of these critters.We had heavy traffic going past today- two tractors,one car and a builder's lorry! The road is tarmaced but we score 10 points because we have grass growing up the middle. Nearest MacDonalds 40 miles away.Ditto Computer Supplies.The bog is 500 yards away and yes,we use peat dug from the bog in the previous year.No donkeys but lots of 4 x 4,s.There is no light pollution so the stars are shiny bright and there is no noise at all except the wind or the rain.

So what is your neighbourhood like ??

-- Chris (enquiries@griffenmill.com), February 09, 2001

Answers

I live in Southern California Chris. Has the Donkey been smogged?

-- Barry (barry@knaent.com), February 09, 2001.

Hey Chris, sounds a little like that TV show Bally-K.

Brian M. posted notes on his trip to the Emerald Isle some time back on the *Spinoff* forum. He did a marvelous job describing your fair land.

-- Rich (howe9@shentel.net), February 09, 2001.

Well Chris, I live west of the Bitterroot Mountains of North Central Idaho. Proud to say that Idaho has a piece of scenery that I've scene in 42 state. Probably not much of Florida and Hawai type of stuff though. 5 degrees right here now at 3500' elevation. Love all the other states but wouldn't trade this one for any others. Sounds like you have a wonderful home too. Have you dug up any people out of them peat bogs lately?

-- Boswell (cjseed@webtv.net), February 09, 2001.

It sounds so peaceful where you're from Chris.

I live in Massachusetts in a mid-sized city, surrounded by houses and people, not much in the way of wide open spaces or privacy for that matter..sigh. But it's home and where all my loved ones are.

-- Peg (pegmcleod@mediaone.net), February 09, 2001.

Ah, but now, isn't that a lovely picture, Chris. You would'nt have a spare room to let for the summer, would you? My wife is of Scotch-Irish stock, and I've always threatened to take her to see your beautiful country.

We live about 15 miles out of a densely populated area on the Texas Gulf coast. A particularly lazy and brackish bayou winds up through the wetlands a few miles, and makes a long hairpin curve around an area of higher ground. This curve delineates my neighborhood. About 40 houses, mostly old summer houses or "bayou cabins". Many of my neighbors are related, and quite a few are at least a little Cajun.

Most of the houses are on lots of about 1/2 acre, and are not fenced, so you can see and often walk along the bayou's edge, across the neighbor's lawn. The other side of the water is undeveloped, and is low land with wild iris, sawgrass and cypress. Very soon, now, the geese will be circling above before leaving to the north, and the warblers, hummers, and buntings will return across the Gulf from Mexico.

The nieghborhood kids walk in the street in the evenings, and still call me "sir". We are struggling with industrial runoff and agricultural pollution, but all-in-all it's a kinda nice place.

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-- Lon Frank (lgal@exp.net), February 09, 2001.

From the pictures I've seen, it's a beautiful country but I'm curious what the weather is like in Ireland. Does it snow? Does it get hot in the summer? My impression (also probably from watching too many movies) is that Ireland is often overcast or rainy with few sunny days. ?

-- CD (costavike@hotmail.com), February 09, 2001.

You're from Ireland? How wonderful! Do people really eat a lot of cabbage and that salty beef there? How about potatoes?

I live in rural Illinois. It's very hilly here and my closest neighbor is about 1/4 mile away. I think it must be alot like where you live because I get to listen to the animals and the elements all day. I have squirrels, (four that are fairly tame) deer, cardinals, blue jays, raccoons and many more that I'm sure I'm forgetting about. Oh yeah! I have doves too! The third floor of my home is almost all office space and I sit up here at my computer looking out the window at doves and the other birds sitting on the electrical lines outside. From here I can see the little creek I have winding around oak and pine trees.

Today is windy and cold and we had some freezing rain earlier. I guess by tonight it will turn to snow and I'll have trouble getting out of my driveway again. In the winter those of us that live out here keep our fingers crossed and hope that the salt truck makes it out fairly quick.

We help each other when we can, and hope the sun shines and the creek don't rise. I'll bet we're not any different than you :-D

-- (Netsc@pe 6.0), February 09, 2001.

I've wondered the same thing, CD. Everyone always says to bring warm clothes and rain gear, even in summer. (I've looked at walking tours)

I think I would love to visit, but I'm not sure if I could do without the sun for days on end. And of course, being from the Texas Gulf Coast, I could book a tour of Hell's boiler room, and not worry about it being to hot.

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-- Lon Frank (lgal@exp.net), February 09, 2001.

Hi,I'm back after checking the weather in the Irish Sea.Gales !! he,he. Other half is being tossed around on his way to England at this very moment.I wonder whether the crockery is being smashed and whether the Ferry still has its TV aerials !

CD.Yes,it snows but maybe every 4th year.We had 8 ins of the fluffy stuff the week after Christmas & it hung round for about 6 days with nightime temps -10.It seems to no wetter than England but I think it depends where you live.Down South in Kerry seems to be wetter as does Northern Ireland.We seem to be living in a bit of a rain shadow as farmers were complaining last summer that it was too dry.

Barry.Donkeys went out in the '60's.The old guy that used to live in our house used them upto '68 & we have found donkey shoes in the barns.

Boswell.No bodies found in our bog but two years ago they did find a 40ft boat made out of a hollow log !

Lon.Yes.We live in County Mayo.approx 40 miles NE of Galway.Capn will look over his shoulder with envy if we ever get together drinking the brown stuff ..or dare I say it the highly illegal potcheen.Now thats the kinda stuff the Guardii will confiscate instantly...but its rarely "found" to be given as evidence.

-- Chris (enquiries@griffenmill.com), February 09, 2001.

We Live in a suburd of Louisville Ky. Historical area. Lots of Revoulutionary and Indian wars commemeratives around. On our street four "original" houses still stand, the oldest built in the late 1700's- Zachery Taylor one time president of the US stayed there many times. The remaining three were built at the end of the 1800's we a four have acre and a half to two acre sized lots. Mine is a yellow two story very tall with a very tall, steep roof. About 2500 sq/ft,10 ft ceilings help keep us cool. Dogwood pine and spruce trees out front, Oak and Maple out back and a barn not doubt built for the first "horseless carriage". Large garden spot out back, grapes vines along the fence row with raspberries and blackberries around the barn. Dog kennel with 3 of the finest bird dogs I've ever had the joy to hunt with!

Sometime in the 70's someone sold land resulting in cookie cutter ranch houses being built on 1/3 acre lots between and around us 4. Railroad tracks remind us every so often why the original builders desired this location. We have grown acustomed to the nusiance.

The dogwoods out front bloom a fantastic shade of pink,which,unforunately, clashes with the yellow of the house. The Historical society has rejected our attempts to paint the house a different color. We've decided to sell in the spring, after the blooms pass.

My ancestors came to America in 1759 from a town in Ireland way down south named Mizen, I think.

Hope I painted a godd enough picture of my neighborhood fer ya!

-- Swampthing (in@the.swamp), February 09, 2001.

Lon.Average temperature in the summer would be low 60's although we had a good summer last year with temps of 70 +.When I was younger & lived in the UK the best two holidays I had was a week on a "self- drive" boat cruising down the Shannon and a touring holiday by car staying at private homes for bed & breakfast.Do you have that kind of thing over in the States ? The food is marvellous but basically English with an Irish twist eg Smoked salmon & melted cheese on soda bread.Lots of fresh seafood & potatoes in usual portions of chips etc. Cabbage a minority vegetable.

Netscape.I too work from home and have taken over two bedrooms.I look over a small pond & we have a lot of teal on it at the moment.Other birds include the tree creeper,ravens,jackdaws,crows & tits,curlews,buzzards & sparrow hawks.St Patrick banished the snakes and we have no moles,thank goodness.For entertainment we could go horse racing or join in pilgramages or weekend retreats where you normally walk a long distance without shoes and food.(I'm not Catholic)We could also go to the Bogmans's Ball & eat steak fried on peat shovels.

Most of our neighbours are elderly & our area is suffering from depopulation as the under 30's want to live in the Cities.It is quite common to see priests and nuns walking along the road in the summer as they are let out for the summer hols !

-- Chris (enquiries@griffenmill.com), February 09, 2001.

The BOGMAN"S BALL! Now, that sounds like my kinda place.

Chris, it was in the 70's here all week already. I know that on the bigger rivers and probably along the Florida coast, you can rent houseboats and such, but the real American drive-it-yourself adventure would be to rent a motorhome and just head west. In fact, we met some folks from Ireland at the RV park near Mesa Verde last summer. It's a good way to not only see the country at your own pace, but you get to meet colorful old geezers like me!

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-- Lon Frank (lgal@exp.net), February 09, 2001.

Hi Chris, I live in a sort of unusual small town. It was designed and planned by Elenore Roosevelt during the early 1930s as a socialist experiment.

:-) Everybody on this forum probably thinks at first, that I'm on another rant, but actually, I'm just stating the facts. It was laid out with a town "center" with bike paths and sidewalks that run like wheel spokes and cross paths to any part of town. Most of the planned community homes are cinderblock or brick, 2 bedroom townhomes that are half price of the surrounding neighborhoods, however, the "town service fee" makes up for the difference. It's got a popular lake that was created by a plan from one of Franklin Roosevelts "make work" projects during the 30s depression. In the town square, there is a traffic barrier in the shape of the pyramid (like the dollar bill) and a plaque with a quote by Franklin: "This experiment should be duplicated across entire America". (Yes, Franklin, I yearn to be a good drone) Where was I? It does have a lot of pluses, considering that it is very close to the Washington DC Beltway ( a superhighway that surrounds Washington) I can hear the traffic in the distance, night or day, but this place is buffered by small fields and trees. In all, I'd say it's a nice place to live. I'm across the street (or down the path, depending on the mood) from a 70 yr old movie theatre, post office, grocery store, library, ball fields, lake, gas station, cafe, bank.

-- KoFE (your@town.USA), February 09, 2001.

Chris:

I think that we have done this before, but for repeats. I live in rural Missouri; in the middle of the HewSA. We have a house that my wife designed; it is about 4500 sq ft. It sits in the middle of 25 or 30 acres. We have a 3.5 acre pond that wraps around two sides of the house. Our property is a mixture of forest and field [mostly forest now-a-days]. Some of the trees here are [according to the forestry department more than 400 y old]. It is a mixed forest. Oak, hickory, ash, birch, walnut, juniper, pine and probably 30 other species. We have a lot of wildlife. The usual, fuzzy-tailed rats, song birds, raccoons, groundhogs, deer, beavers [pain in the you know what], otters, turkeys [during the last storm there were 35 in my backyard eating something], quail, pheasant, rabbits and such stuff. In recent years we’ve had bald eagles and osprey during the winter. Peregrine falcons are the major raptor, but we have many other kinds. We intend to make more ponds but our property is a civil war battle site and we have to be careful where we dig. You can still see the wagon ruts from the early 1800’s in the front.

We live 20 miles from town. That town is about 75,000. It has three colleges and a major University. It did have 7 hospitals but with all of the mergers, I don’t know how many they officially have. We have some manufacturing; mostly suppliers for the auto industry. There are some food companies [people like Quaker], software and computer and electronics hardware and such stuff. Lots of insurance and marketing firms. On average that city has a relative high income [guaranteed by the fact that all of Sam Walton’s family moved here]. We are 2h drive from two major cities, but seldom go there. We are the same distance from the Ozarks and great floating and fishing. It takes me 25 minutes to drive the 20 miles to work.

The weather can be harsh. Today we have had 1.5 in of rain, followed by ice and then snow. While winters are generally mild [my standard may be different since I lived near Yellowstone Park for a while] it has reached –35 F since I lived here. Summers can be hot and humid [usually for a month]. What is nice is that there are four seasons. You know; the way it is supposed to be. The joke in Montana was that we only had two seasons. They were winter and July 14.

Overall, it is a pleasant place to live: too pleasant. We are one of the fastest growing counties in the state and it is getting worse. Money magazine keeps listing us as one of the 5 most livable small cities in the country and people and companies keep coming. At the last meeting that I attended, a full 60% of the people had moved here from California. Fortunately, you can’t build on less than 10 acres in my part of the county.

Best wishes,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), February 09, 2001.

Z you phoney motherfucker. You expect us to believe someone with that kind of money wastes their time on the internet?

-- (no@way.jose), February 09, 2001.

No way:

Yep, you caught me. I live in an old, one room, Prowler trailer sited on a toxic waste dump outside of Richland, Washington. I raise chickens but they all end-up with three heads. I guess it is the chemicals or the radioactivity. But if you like chicken-head soup it is an advantage. *<)))

Best Wishes,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), February 09, 2001.

Three-headed chickens aye? That kinda explains everything.

-- Barry (bchbear863@cs.com), February 10, 2001.

Chris,

Although I live in New Zealand rather than USA, our neighbourhood is very similar to Z's. We have just purchased a new property in Central Otago about 5 miles from our present place.

Its 10.8 acres of bare land, and we intend putting a house on it in the next couple of months. After the house will be a pond, but a lot smaller than Z's. Ours will only be about 1/2 acre, but 5 meters deep.

Our plan is that most of the rest of the property will be planted in trees. Mainly Walnut with a sprinkling of Hazelnut, Oak, Chestnut and Olives. The southern boundry will be planted in Nitens, and there will be Willows around the pond. About 1 - 2 acres will be kept in pasture for my wife's horse and possibly some domestic stock. We do have neighbours 200 yards away, but then its all bare land to the nearest road 1100 yards away.

The nearest towns, (populations of 3300 and 560), are both 5 miles away, and our nearest city (population 110,000) is 2 1/2 hours drive away, or 30 minutes in the Cessna. The area hospital (12 beds) is in the smaller of our two towns, but for anything major patients are flown to the main hospital in the city. There is a good high school in the larger of the towns, and most services are available locally.

There is no real crime although there was a burgulary in the larger town last year, and another near our house about 4 years ago. The local police force are mainly concerned with drunk drivers and the occassional cannibis user.

Our weather is rather varied. It is usually the hotest part of New Zealand in the summer, and the coldest in the winter. Temperatures can vary from -26 C or -15 F (our coldest record) to +42 C or 108 F (our hottest record). Rainfall is 350 mm (12 inches) per year. This year has been cooler and drier than average, with two frost so far this month in what should our hottest month of the year.

We are surrounded by low mountains (6500 ft) with some of the more majestic peaks visible in the distance. Plenty of beautiful lakes close by, and the highest flowing river in New Zealand flows right through our valley.

I believe our neighbourhood is as close to paradise on earth as it is possible to get.

-- Malcolm Taylor (taylorm@es.co.nz), February 10, 2001.

I live in a house that was just built two years ago in a small community between Fort Worth and Dallas. SO had it built to his specifications, right down to the "home office" for me. I had nothing to do with it, and that's a good thing, because I have absolutely NO ability to either look at a floor plan and visualize the reality or even envision whether this or that couch would look good. I don't know why he wanted a house, but he did, and I consider myself a "squatter" here, having no financial stake in the whole thing, myself.

I have NO CLUE how big the plot of land is here. We're NOT in the country, so it must conform somehow to local standards. I know that both the front and back yards are big enough that I wouldn't want to mow them of grass, and know that the back yard was too big for me to grow a garden using more than about 1/8 of it the year that I tried.

The neighbors are close, in more ways than physical distance. There's not one neighbor on my block that I've met and didn't like almost immediately. We had an empty lot on one side [living almost at the end of a dead-end], but someone bought the land there, built a house, and by golly, the he of the couple spent an evening here watching a sporting event with SO and by the time he left he'd given me his work number, his home number, and his pager number, simply knowing that SO would be working out of town for a while.

The weather here is mostly sunny and warm. We have a few freezing rain days in winter, and some "scorching" hot days in summer, but overall, we only need one season's wardrobe.

I like it here. I like what SO has done to the house. I'm thankful every day that I had no input in that. One of my daughter's friends recently said, "I feel like I'm walking into a 'House and Garden' home every time I come here." I feel that way too. I suppose I should do the dishes sometime this week to keep up that image, but there probably aren't enough yet to warrant the effort.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), February 10, 2001.

Anita,we share something in common ! I too am hopeless at spatial visulation.I had to give crystalography because it was absolutely impossible to imagine the intersections of internal faces.The SO is dyslexic & one of the few advantages of dyslexia is a superior talent for this kind of thing.Another is unorthodox problem solving.I have often thought that dyslexics should be valued far more for their talents.At times I wish we lived in a new house..ours is about 100 years old & having a large 120lb dog is never going to be pristine.

New Zealand sounds great.America seems pretty good too.Aren't we a lucky bunch !!

-- Chris (enquiries@griffenmill.com), February 10, 2001.

Chris, how did your roof/insulation project turn out?

-- KoFE (your@town.USA), February 10, 2001.

It didn't.The guy cancelled becaus of flu & never got back.We didn't bother to chase because we have been upto our ears in work.But we haven't forgotten.These Dubliners think that crossing the Shannon is the equivalent of crossing the Rio Grande.Most of the time nobody here minds being ignored as we can just get on & do our own thing without too much interference.

-- Chris (enquiries@griffenmill.com), February 11, 2001.

Primavera is just showing her slip on the central California coast. The early birds such as California thrashers; song & white-crowned sparrows; dark-eyed juncoes; Annas hummingbirds and bushtits are busy staking out nesting spots and displaying now. The wild iris and star lilies are in bloom. I expect it to be a brief wildflower season, as we were only at a quarter of average precipitation levels before this recent little weekend storm settled the dust. The Great Grand young of last fall's Monarchs are heading northeast; and flocks of different gulls can be seen migrating - or at least fixing to. Some late gray whales are still heading south, I suspect they aren't pregnant individuals heading for that warm lagoon nursery in Baja. Before long we'll see them heading back toward the Arctic, and possibly glimpse a pod of Orcas teaching their calves how to hunt.

Wild chanterelle mushrooms are up; yet we still has a dramatic winter ocean slinging stinky seaweed & driftwood way up the outcrops & across the roads in spots. Yestreday I slogged through a somewhat damp redwood grove, and tried to view Japan 7000 miles across the pond. The clouds in the sky, and the light and shadows on the water were magnificent.

The kids are like most kids anywhere, though I'm not so sure about their parents!

-- flora (***@__._), February 11, 2001.

Great thread! Most of you live in much more interesting places than I, but here goes:

I live in a subdivision in Columbus, Ohio that was build right after WWII. The homes are mainly red brick. A few are covered in white or tan siding. Most have 3-4 bedrooms, two stories with a basement. The lots are close together. The houses on the ends of my street are two bedrooms, much smaller. I own one of those.

The residents are young professionals (doctors, lawyers, etc) with their families and a fair number of retirees. Most of the children attend the nearby Catholic school. I see them wearing uniforms and hear them bouncing basketballs around on mornings when I leave a little late for work.

The neighborhood itself has old-growth trees, one or two on every lot. In the summer, the trees help keep the temperatures tolerable. There are maples, walnuts, pines, and some fruit trees, cherry, apple, and pear. Many residents have compost piles and small gardens, where they grow veggies in the summer. Several neighbors who lost their big trees to lightning and windstorms have filled in the space with hybrid roses: Chicago Peace, Mr. Lincoln, ? (The latest ARS winner) are the popular bushes. On still nights in the spring, I can smell roses and lilacs.

It's a safe, "walking" neighborhood. In the early mornings and evenings, people jog by, with and without their dogs, lots of collies and goldens, a few mutts, all happy. The kids roller blade and bicycle up and down the street when it's warm, but not too late in the evenings. The parents want them in early to do homework, so by dusk, it's usually quiet again. Sometimes I hear the neighbor girls practicing their piano lessions when we all have the windows open.

I'm about a ten minute car ride from work, thirty-five minute bike ride, depending on the weather and the time of day. My drive is routine, but occasionally, I see a colorful sunrise reflected in the taller buildings of downtown. Every once in awhile, I'll see a hot air balloon or two in June. Mostly, I see tons and tons of cars.

I can't brag about the weather or the great scenery, but I like it here. There's good fishing less than an hour away, great metro parks, and plenty of affordable entertainment at Ohio State or the other campuses: I can go bass fishing in the morning and see a French film with my girlfriend that evening -- and have enough money left over to treat her to a good meal out. Can't beat that!

-- kb (kb8um8@yahoo.com), February 11, 2001.