June 13, 2024

Jordan and I were walking the one lane road that runs in front of the cottage when we heard a car and pulled over to let it pass. But it didn’t pass. It stopped. And the driver, a total stranger who lives in a village about twelve miles from Gort, rolled down his window. For a chat.

After several minutes of delightful conversation, he asked if I knew why Chevy Chase Woods, just a couple of miles up the road, was named that. I didn’t know. When I suggested it was because the faeries that live there have a sense of humor, he laughed. Then he looked me in the eye, smiled, said, “Now the next time we meet, I expect a proper answer,” and drove off. 

Chances are pretty good we will not meet again. But I have now researched this and discovered there are two possibilities. One associates the place to the Cheviot Hills along the English-Scottish border where ‘chaces’ were popular hiding and hunting areas. Hence Cheviot Chace, now Chevy Chase. Which does echo the English influences in this area. The other option is a derivation of ‘chevauchee’, the French word for horseback border raids. Which would also echo the area’s past. 

OK. More information than you wanted. But for those of you who have been to the cottage, walked to the woods, and asked the same question, here’s your answer.

Ah, road rambling revelations. Yesterday neighbor Mick and I drove up this same road and well past Chevy Chase Woods to see a farmer and find out if he would be willing to do some landscape management here at the cottage. He would. It turns out he planted many of the trees in the cottage garden and landscape for the original owner. 

On the drive, Mick named every owner past and present of every house we passed. Names, and many stories. Like the man who used to own a garage just there who would fix your car in no time. If you had a mishap after visiting the pub, you could go to him and he would work all night to have your car repaired by the next morning so your wife would suspect nothing. 

With the Gatherings complete and the many cottage visitors now gone, it’s wonderful to have the time to settle into the rural rhythms and ramblings of my Irish neighborhood.

Beannacht,
Judith