I met up with a friend in Little Norway Park for a walk and chat. Little Norway Park was built on the same site where a training camp for Norway’s Air Force was located during World War II.
The park was officially opened by His Majesty King Olav V of Norway on November 20, 1987. It features a ball diamond, a wading pool, a children’s playground and many walking paths through gardens.
While we were at the park, I was delighted to discover five benches painted by Lead artist Jim Bravo, Athena Patterson and Jannai Goddard in July 2014. I’ve been organizing my digital images of public art into themes. These bench photos go under my On the Bench theme.
On the Bench
Little Norway Park has many black and grey squirrels that run away when they see humans. This grey squirrel, however, approached me and perched on a tree branch for me to take a few photos.
My friend and I had a good catch-up and many laughs. I enjoyed sunshine, friendship, colourful art and squirrels. I headed home with a smile and photos.
Questions
- Are black and grey squirrels common in your corner of the world?
- If you were ‘on the bench‘ (as in a judge), which bench would you give the highest rating?
Weekend Coffee Share
I’d love for you to share what’s been happening, simple joys from your week and/ or favourite public art photos from around the world in the comments or Weekend Coffee Share linkup #105 InLinkz below.
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Natalie the Explorer 
Red, always red! And only grey squirrels in my area.
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Thank you Denny for sharing your thoughts. Red is a beautiful colour. Black and Eastern grey squirrels are common in my area.
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Hi, Natalie – Those benches are awesome! The red one with the Greek Letters is my favourite.
As to your question about squirrels: Red squirrels and Douglas squirrels are our native tree squirrels on Vancouver Island. They are approximately half the size of grey squirrels. Red squirrels are rusty-red in colour with white underparts. Douglas squirrels are reddish-brown with yellow underparts. Eastern Grey Squirrels (which can be grey or black) were introduced to Vancouver Island in 1966. They have been quickly spreading since then and have caused threat to many of our native trees (esp. Garry Oaks), plants (esp. Camas flowers) and our native squirrels.
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Hi Donna, Another vote for the red bench, yes! That’s unfortunate that the Eastern grey squirrels which are common in Ontario have caused threat to native trees and native squirrels on Vancouver Island. There is also a white squirrel colony in Toronto, near Trinity Bellwoods Park. I got a photo of a white squirrel there but the quality was not great.
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We only have black squirrels in our part of Spain. I love the bench with the sun signs, including a first nations sun, the best but they are all fabulous. Looks like a perfect day for you. I just had a 90 minute chat on Skype with my daughter who lives on a small island of the west coast of BC. It made my day.
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Hi Darlene, It’s interesting that you only have black squirrels in your part of Spain. Skype is so great for keeping in touch with our loved ones around the world. I’m glad you had a long and lovely chat with your daughter.
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Those benches are so cute! We only have gray squirrels here and were so surprised to see black ones when we were up in Niagara Falls.
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Joanne, It’s interesting that you only have gray squirrels. Both black and gray squirrels are common in my area.
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Well, I kinda like the sun, but I also like the star constellations. we have all colors of squirrels, which is a recent phenomenon. We used to have regular old, fat, reddish squirrels. Now we have those and black squirrels and grey squirrels and little red squirrels….and some that seem to be all mixed up.
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Dawn, The mystery of star constellations is appealing. I’d love to get a good picture of a red squirrel. We have red squirrels here but they’re less common than the black and grey squirrels. There is also a small colony of white squirrels in a local park.
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Interesting history behind the park and its name. The star constellations one I think is my favourite bench. There are no squirrels in New Zealand.
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Yes, some parks in Toronto have interesting European connections. I didn’t know there are no squirrels in New Zealand, wow.
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There are no native mammals in New Zealand (apart from a bat). Mice, rats, stoats etc were all introduced by settlers. Luckily they didn’t bring any squirrels! I grew up in Scotland and in the cities you only see the American grey squirrel which has pushed the native red squirrel out into countryside areas only. There are lots of squirrels in Edinburgh and Glasgow, but I only saw one red one once when I lived in Copenhagen,
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We have red squirrels here but less common than the black and grey squirrels. Now you’ve got me imagining a world without squirrels.
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🙂
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I didn’t realize that NZ didn’t have any native mammals other than bats. Intriguing. My apologies for the invasion of Australian possums.
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A yes…as they say here, the only good possum is a dead possum 🙂 We have some in the bush around where we live and having heard one once screaming at another one – what a noise!
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i was quite surprised when we arrived at Auckland Airport on our honeymoon in 2001 to see a display there about how possums are pests there. I love them but we don’t have any living in our roof of it might be a different story. Yes, and they can be very loud.
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The first time I heard a possum I nearly jumped out of my skin!
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This looks like a fun park. A lot of good humor. The squirrels are a definite plus.
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It’s a nice neighbourhood park. The squirrels provide hours of free entertainment.
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The only colour squirrel I recall seeing here in Northern Alberta are red ones. I imagine we have other colours, but one little red squirrel made an impression on me a few years ago, so he dominates my memory of squirrels.
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Red squirrels are less common in Ontario so it’s exciting to see them.
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Hi Natalie, no squirrels here in Aus but we do have possums which are a bit similar. Those benches are bright and colourful – a great park by all accounts.
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Hi Debbie, Those benches add a fun touch to the park. When I visit Australia, I’m sure I’ll take lots of pictures of animals that I don’t get to see in Canada.
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I think I like the yellow one best… no, the red…. wait, maybe the black and white one. I have no idea what kind of squirrels we have here… brown, maybe?
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Hard to pick one bench, isn’t it? From what I read, you likely have the California ground squirrels with brown. mottled fur and white lines around their eyes.
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The (at the time a four year) college my husband and I attended was founded by immigrants from the Norwegian Lutheran Church about the time my Norwegian and Sami ancestors arrived in midwestern Minnesota,. It is just across the river from Fargo, ND. When I got my degree in 1968, King Olav V was the guest speaker at our Commencement proceedings. Folks were quite excited and impressed. The gray squirrels used to play in the cottonwood trees outside the windows of the old brick classroom building. Quite distracting during calculus class.
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It’s fascinating to hear that King Olav V was the guest speaker at your Commencement proceedings. Thank you Lizl for sharing your story.
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Hi Natalie. We don’t have squirrels here in Aust. When I’ve been in US or Canada I loved seeing them. These benches are all fantastic but I would vote for the alphabet bench.
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Hi Jennifer, Another vote for the red alphabet bench. I see squirrels all the time here and now I’m reminded that there are no squirrels in Australia and New Zealand.
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1. We don’t have squirrels at all
2. I think the constellations but I like the black with white letters too.
3. I am off to google why the Norwegians were training in Canada….
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This article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Norway may answer your point #3.
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Hi Natalie, These benches are beautiful and it adds cheer to the park. I like the yellow bench with Sun designs. Squirrel is cute. In Sri Lanka, there are many of these even around homes. But, here in Singapore, I can’t remember I’ve seen them.
Have a great weekend!
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Hi Amila, I agree those benches add cheer to the park. Thank you for your vote for the yellow bench with Sun designs. Have a great weekend!
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We don’t have squirrels in the area we currently live. I give the yellow sunshine bench the highest rating. Seems like a nice park to have a visit with a friend. #Weekendcoffeeshare
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Another vote for the yellow bench! Thank you for linking up.
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Love the red bench, although I am a sun person the drawing of that main sun is spòky. As to squirrels mostly red out here and they aren’t super common.
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Bernie, Another vote for the red bench 🙂 I guess the Prairies may be too cold and open for squirrels so they are not as common there.
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Hi Natalie – so good that you could catch up with your friend and the benches look great with their colours and themes. I’m amazed you have a whole section of your photos dedicated just to benches – pretty special 🙂
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Hi Leanne, It’s great to have green space to go to and hang out with friends. I have less photos of benches than utility boxes but there are enough to group into a theme 🙂
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Hi Natalie, I am always amazed and inspired by all you discover. Good thing you pointed out the small squirrel. I almost missed him. And then you have the squirrel who actually enjoys the paparazzi. 😀All of the benches are fascinating in their own way. I vote “Sun designs.” Have a great weekend!💕 Erica
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Hi Erica/ Erika, Thank you for your vote for the Sun designs. That yellow bench was bathed in sunlight and was so inviting. When I go outside, I try to pay attention to local plants and animals and check in with my five senses. That cute squirrel was munching on something and it kept looking at me and my camera so I obliged 🙂 I hope you’ve been keeping well. Have a fabulous February!
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I love both the red and yellow benches. As for squirrels, after having one run crazy in our attic, several years ago, I’m not really a fan! Thanks for the tour, Natalie. Enjoy your weekend!
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Jill, The red and yellow benches seem to get the most votes so far. Squirrels in the attic would be a nightmare. Thank you for stopping by. Have a great weekend!
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I have never seen a black squirrel until I visited Canada last year. Grey squirrels are everywhere here. I think they are slightly bigger compare to the black squirrel but I found the black squirrel runs a lot faster because I couldn’t capture one on camera. It’s probably because of its small size.
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Yes, the black squirrels are very fast. I haven’t got a good picture of any black squirrel yet even though I see them all the time.
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I tried to get a picture of them a few times but by the time I focused the camera, it was gone.
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Same here, Yinglan. I’ll try again soon.
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Grey squirrels is all we find around here, but there are plenty of those 🙂
Here is mine:
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Sofia, Good to know grey squirrels are plenty in Glasgow. Thank you for your beautiful PPAC contribution.
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Hey Natalie, love the benches especially the sun, the black with white letters and the red with alphabet. And of course the squirrel, which like some have commented … we don’t have it here in Melbourne, Australia.
Here is mine https://mywanderings.travel.blog/2023/02/04/a-sitting-koala/
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Hey Teresa, I’m pleased you liked these benches. They add a fun touch to the park. Thank you for your colourful PPAC contribution.
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My pleasure to share ❤️
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Gray squirrels are very common here, but there a few black squirrels and a few khaki squirrels running around, too. As much as I like the blue bench with constellations (and a squirrel) as a judge I pick the first bench. It’s easier to see and understand immediately.
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Ally, I like your logic in picking the first bench 🙂 Good to know the squirrels in your area.
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All the benches are great, but my favorite is the red one with Greek letters and symbols (even though Greek letters give me calculus flashbacks). We have 3 kinds of squirrels here in my part of Arizona: the rock squirrel, the round-tailed ground squirrel, and Harris’ antelope ground squirrel. Rock squirrels can kill rattlesnakes!
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Another vote for the red bench! Your ‘calculus flashbacks’ comment made me smile. Now I’m off to learn more about the three kinds of squirrels in AZ, especially the rock squirrels 🙂
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I know very little about Norway’s involvement in WW II, but I am sure having a place in Canada for air force training was very helpful. Cool that it is now a park. the benches are interesting. I would like a better view of the seat of the sun bench. The sun symbols remind me of native symbols.
Hope you are having a good weekend!
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This article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Norway gives more information about Norway’s air force training at the park. There is also Native history at this park. Have a great weekend!
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What lovely park.
We only have red/brown squirrels in Sweden (named Red squirrel or European squirrel.)
The bench with the sun has to be a my favourite, though all of them are very nice.
Thank you for the lovely coffee chat.
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Another vote for the yellow bench with the sun designs! Thank you Maria for sharing the kinds of squirrels in Sweden. I’d love to have a good photo of a red squirrel.
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I’ll try my best to get you a photo sometime these next coming weeks 🙂
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I definitely vote for the yellow bench with the Sun and I’m not quite sure what is on the seat of the bench, but that sun reminds me of a childhood dream of the Sun and the Moon having a fight over who would get to take over the sky in the morning. It has stayed with me! Have a great weekend!
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Another vote for the yellow bench! Thank you Pam for sharing your lovely childhood dream. Have a great weekend!
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You as well!
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Great shots 🙂
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Thank you and welcome to my blog.
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Hi Natalie, some really cool benches there. I like the sun bench best. The park near our house has lots of gray squirrels. They come a little too close for my comfort. Probably because they expect food. I do enjoy taking pictures of them though. Just at a bit of a distance.
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Hi Suzanne, I keep a safe distance from urban wildlife and I don’t feed them. There is actual by-law here that asks people not to feed them but some people still do.
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I’m so happy you and your friend had a good time catching up. I’d choose the bench with the moon phases on it, because I love those.
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Thank you, Astrid, for your vote. The Moon phases are certainly interesting.
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I had to look up the types of squirrels here. “There are three primary squirrel species in the Prescott area — Rock, Arizona gray and Abert’s.” They are mostly gray and reddish. I liked the constellation bench the best. They are all great learning tools, though. I love how you are organizing your PPAC around themes. What a great walk for a classroom if the teacher is looking for lessons in everyday life 🙂 For that matter, they could do a study of squirrels while they were out. 🙂 I’m back, but I’m going to double dip for today so I will have more time to read blogs. 🙂
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Hi Marsha, Welcome back! The constellation bench is inspiring. It leads my thoughts to the Milky Way. There is a lot to learn on this type of walk for the curious minds (e.g. history of the park, art, artists, local plants and animals, the neighbourhood, space science, photography, urban planning, etc.). I’m liking my public art themes. They make me feel more organized. I hope the few themes I have are interesting to my blog readers, too.
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I’m sure they will be interesting to your readers. All your posts are inspiring and very beautiful.
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Thank you for your positive feedback. I greatly appreciate it.
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You’re welcome!
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Hi Natalie!
I love the yellow bench with the sun designs the best. We have small grey ground squirrels here and I know there are tree squirrels up in the mountains here too. I enjoyed your post this weekend and I am so happy I could join the #weekendcoffeeshare this weekend. Have a great week ahead! ❤
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Hi Diana, I’m pleased you’re able to join WCS this weekend. Thank you for your vote for the yellow bench. I’ll be over to your blog later today. Have a wonderful Sunday!
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Hi Natalie.
I enjoyed your trip to Norway Park and the constellation seat was my favourite too. We don’t have squirrels in Australia either and feel like I’m missing t on something although I do read many frustrating comments from people about squirrels.
Hope you have a great week ahead.
Best wishes,
Rowena
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Hi Rowena, It’s fun to watch squirrels in a park and dogs love to chase them up, down and around trees. I’m pleased you like the constellation bench. Have a great weekend!
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I love the constellation bench! We have black, red and gray squirrels in my corner of the world. I love the gray ones with the white bellies. We actually got to watch a squirrel move her four babies one by one from my neighbors tree to ours. It was pretty neat.
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Another vote for the constellation bench! Thank you for sharing your fascinating squirrel story. The mama squirrel must feel your tree was safer for her babies.
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🙂 I asked my next door neighbor if she didn’t pay her rent. Lol
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Those benches are so very cool. Love them. Thanks for hosting and I hope that you have a wonderful week.
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Thank you Patrick. Have a great week ahead!
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Cool benches 😀! Here’s my entry: https://flightsofthesoul.wordpress.com/2023/02/06/in-the-land-of-camels/
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PR, Thank you for your comment and PPAC contribution of colourful murals from India.
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Love all the cool benches. The black and white is my fav.
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Hena, Welcome to my blog and thank you for your comment. The black and white bench is striking.
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I love the phases of the moon and constellations. and YES we have squirrels….one of the towns just north of us has several little bridges for the squirrels and have a squirrel fest. I’ll have to take pics of one of them sometime.
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Kirstin, Thank you for your vote for the benches with the moon phases and constellations. Several people love them, too. The town that has a squirrel fest sounds interesting.
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Hi Natalie,
Except for the very early hours, my weekends are getting complicated, thus my return visits are more often being delayed. Am trying to correct, but until accomplished, I’m trying not to ignore my coffee share friends.
Anyway, I was struck by the benches and the one that had me starring at the longest was the white characters – all those different characters – what is their origin, fictional or historical. I’d bet there’s a story in this thread of thought.
And the squirrels. oh yes, we have them here. Ours tend to be grey with reddish accents to their fur and tails. They are voracious eaters and, like any place they are found, bird feeders are one of their favorite snack joints. Many folks, who love feeding and watching birds have a latent hatred of squirrels because they really do terrorize those feeders.
Thanks for another glimpse of the charms of Toronto and for hosting our meetings.
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Hi Gary, Thank you for your comment. The bench with white characters is intriguing. I haven’t thought of the bird feeders but I see how squirrels can cause hardship for birds, all try to get some food. Have a great week! Hopefully you’ll get your weekends back to how you like them to be.
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Natalie, lovely to learn about the history of Little Norway Park and how wonderful the King of Norway opened it officially. I must admit I’ve never seen an artistic bench before and now witness five unique designs. As a writer, I feel I should choose a letter one as my favourite but my vote goes to the moon phases! Beautiful! As for grey squirrels, they are virtually our pets, daily visitors to our garden (not so happy about their attempts to get at the squirrel-proof bird feeders!) and they are always seen during walks in the park, wood, near the lakes! It is a wonder to see red squirrels which were almost wiped out when the grey ones were introduced into the UK.
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Hi Annika, The bench with the moon phases is well liked! We have red squirrels here although they are less visible than the black and grey squirrels. I’d love to get a good photo of a red squirrel. Thank you for stopping by. Have a wonderful week!
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For me the Midnight bench is my favourite. In the UK there were quite a few squirrels outside my parents house. Hope to be joining you this weekend as I have so much public art from Dublin and even a few squirrels.
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Ali, The Midnight bench with constellations is wonderful. It reminds me of the Milky Way and mysteries in space. Sounds like you had a good time in Dublin. I enjoyed Dublin when I was there. I look forward to having you join us this weekend.
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Thanks Natalie 😊
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A very historic park! and such fun benches! My favourites are the constellation & the alphabet … both look like such fun to decode!
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The constellation and alphabet benches certainly look fun to ponder and decode. It seems that this park gives people opportunities to exercise our brains as well as our bodies.
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Multilevel training & entertainment!
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