Friday, May 27, 2016

Five on Friday


It's Friday so once again I'm joining in with  Amy at Love Made my Home for this week's Five on Friday. 

Five things that have made me smile this week



1.  Visitors to the Garden - Squirrels and theirs kits have been visiting the garden to pinch the bird food and brother fox visited early on Tuesday morning in the brilliant sunshine.  Normally foxes dash through the garden late evening but this one sat for a while and then decided to pinch the birds' buggy nibbles.



 2.  Lazy Cats in the Sunshine - I once saw a cartoon that depicted a cat fast asleep near a food bowl and the caption was 'Happiness is twenty three hours sleep a day and plenty of "Fato Cato",' I think Chloe has taken this to heart this week.  We had visitors here for lunch and most of the afternoon on Wednesday and she never even knew they were here.  Slept through it all.  The privileges of being a twenty year old I expect.


3.  More baby ducklings - sorry I know I wrote about baby ducks and water birds for my last Five on Friday post but I couldn't resist these gorgeous ducks in the courtyard garden at the Emma Bridgewater factory up in the city centre.  They are Appleyard Crested Ducklings. 


4.  Oasis in the City - the Bridgewater factory, shops and cafe are on a main road up towards the city centre but the little garden there is a peaceful oasis.  You'd never know the main road was just over the wall.  The flowers in the garden were delightful.  All the colours and shapes I love.


5.  Little things that catch the eye - back to Hardwick Hall and I know I still have a post to write about the new Hall having written about the old hall in my last post but I thought I would feature a few things that made me smile in the gardens and shop.  Lilac and laburnum trees and grasses in the herb garden plus a seahorse plate and little mice in the shop.
Click on the link below to find other bloggers who are joining in with 


Have a lovely weekend everyone.

46 comments:

  1. A lovely five Rosie. I can never get enough wildlife pictures. Bring on baby ducklings, oh so cute. Isn't it great when you get a flowery oasis in the middle of a busy place, somehow it makes the flowers more special. Have a lovely weekend. B xx

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    1. The little courtyard behind the factory wall is so quiet and peaceful yet full of vibrant colour too. The ducks were priceless, so funny. I usually look for the chickens but didn't see them this time:)

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  2. So many lovely things in your five this week. Such a great time of year. I must apologise as I have been thinking you must have been away as I hadn't noticed any posts from you lately and it was only today when I noticed your five on Friday post wasn't showing on my blog list. I'm not sure how it happened but I must have accidentally deleted the link when I was messing about with the layout. Sorry about that, I must go back and find the posts I've missed. :-)

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    1. Oh dear, not to worry these things happen, glad you found my post and realised what had happened. I've done that myself it is easy to lose things when you are having a tidy up. Have a great weekend:)

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  3. A lovely collection this week!

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  4. A lovely collection of fives. I sometimes see a fox in the field behind my house but never in the garden x

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    1. They are such a lovely colour aren't they? It is lovely to seethem:)

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  5. A lovely five. How beautiful are those purple Alliums in the Emma Bridgewater garden and how lovely to have that little oasis in the middle of a busy city. xx

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    1. Oh, yes I did love the purple and mauve colours in the garden it was so elegant and pretty:)

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  6. I love your "five" this week Rosie!
    Entertainment in both the garden and the house! Squirrels, foxes and dear Chloe. She is a great age, in human years she's probably in her 90's.
    The baby ducklings are so cute - I love their bath and the little ramp.
    Such pretty planting in the city - it makes such a difference to have beautiful surroundings.
    Happy weekend!
    Shane

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    1. Thanks, Shane. The ducks were allowed to swim with the gardener there and they were taking great advantage of the tin bath whilst he was weeding in a corner. It was lovely to see them and it is a lovely garden, small but perfect. I wish it were mine:)

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  7. A fine selection, though many of them are worthy of a bigger picture.

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    1. Thanks, John, I probably try to show too many at the same time by making a collage:)

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  8. A lovely selection - the ducklings are so cute and the Emma Bridgewater garden looks so very pretty - my one and only allium is just coming into flower!

    Looking forward to the new Hardwick Hall post - I treated myself to one of those little mice from one of the NT shops I visited last year :)

    Have a super weekend.

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    1. The mice were so cute and quite affordable. I love the hares too but they are quite expensive. Will try to write about Hardwick Hall over the weekend, we've had trouble on and off this week with our internet connection keep cutting off, usually when I'm writing a post or leavng comments, I've lost several of those this morning:)

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  9. Sorry also meant to say that I've read your older posts on Morville Dower House Gardens and church. Wonderful - I just have to visit!! It looks just as I imagined it would. Cream tea too on the agenda too hopefully :)

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    1. Oh, do go I'm sure you will love it and the countryside around which she describes in the book is lovely too. Have a lovely weekend:)

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  10. I've enjoyed all five collages. They show many happy moments this week; foxes and squirrels, baby ducks enjoying a swim in a tub, Chloe in kitty dreamland bless her, lovely flowers, items in Hardwick Hall shop that I would love to own especially the seahorse plate. Looking forward to seeing more of new Hardwick Hall.

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    1. The squirrels have been so funny to watch this week and it was a treat to see the fox and for it to stay for a while. The trouble with Chloe sleeping all day is that she wakes me up in the middle of the night wanting attention, as she is deaf I thing she gets disorientated sometimes. The plate was very pretty:)

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  11. I loved all of your collages Rosie. Animals are so cute but I don't succeed in photographing them. Even my cat is too quick for me :) Have a lovely weekend!

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    1. Therewas a time when our two cats were too quick for photos too. Glad you enjoyed the photos:)

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  12. Wonderful pictures. I love seeing the visitors to your garden. We've had squirrels (of course), chipmunks, deer and I caught sight of a rabbit the other day! Amazing since we live in town. Luckily there are some green spaces near us.

    Lazy cats in the sunshine - mine is extremely happy now that he can sit in the sun. He spends a lot of winter either on the couch or in front of the heat register. I've a feeling he won't like the heat coming either. Fussy cat.

    Have a great weekend

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    1. Cats do love heat and to sit in the sunshine don't they? After a while they move to the shade to cool of. You have a wonderful selection of animals visit your garden, how wonderful to have a deer visit you:)

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  13. Always enjoy your photos, can never have too many animal photos. That's amazing that your Kitty is 20! Sigh, love lilacs, but they will not grow here.

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    1. I love lilacs too but they don't flower for very long I wish the flowers would last a couple of months. Chloe looks good for 20 but her brother has aged far more, I'm not sure how much longer he will be with us as he seems very fragile:)

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  14. A wonderful five, beautiful photos. Love the oasis in the City, you certainly seem to be having better weather then we are its been quite dull all week.

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    1. The weather has been quite good this week with just the odd shower here and there. The garden is lovely and so pretty:)

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  15. A fabulous five, Rosie. The animals in your part of the world look to be enjoying spring.
    Amalia
    xo

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    1. It is certainly a good time for the wildlife in the garden. Lots of baby birds and animals around. Glad you enjoyed the photos:)

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  16. Lovely post
    http://shilpachandrasekheran.blogspot.ae/?m=1

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  17. You Five on Friday are beautiful!! Wishing you a nice weekend!

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    1. Thanks, Sandra. Happy weekend to you too:)

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  18. How wonderful to have a young fox visit your garden. I'm sure my cats would see them off if we had any though.

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    1. I've seen several cats in our garden, not ours as they rarely go out now, and the fox just wanders by and they don't seem to bother each other. It is nice to see the foxes as we usually miss them when it gets dark:)

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  19. Lovely uplifting images. I do love Chloe's little face. She is such a pretty 'old lady'! Have a lovely weekend Rosie. x

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    1. She is a pretty cat I do cling to her now and dread the day we have to say goodbye. Hope you have a lovely weekend:)

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  20. Another lovely post for five on Friday. Those flowers are beautiful and I love the duck pond! Enjoy your weekend Rosie. Marie x

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    1. Thanks Marie, the ducks were gorgeous and so funny and the flowers were lovely:)

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  21. What a lovely post! I especially love the foxes. I have only ever seen one silver fox on our lawn in the six years we've lived here. Do you see them often?

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    1. We don't always see them but we do know they visit the gardens and fields at the back of us regularly because they leave 'evidence' and also we can hear them calling for each other at certain times of the year. Occasionally we see them in the daytime but usually they scurry off, this one wanted to stay in the garden and enjoy the sunshine:)

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  22. Lots of cute things in your five, Rosie. Foxes are such pretty creatures, even though they go after chickens. The ducklings are very sweet, and the flowers a beautiful shade of purple/pink.

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    1. Yes, the foxes are lovely to see but they can be a nuisance especially to those who keep chickens. The ducklings were gorgeous and I loved the colour of the flowers:)

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  23. Lots of lovely images here, I didn't know that there is an Emma Bridgewater factory in the north of England. Another place for a future visit I think:)

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    1. Emma Bridgewater makes all her wares here in Stoke-on-Trent and the factory is at the side of the canal just on the edge of Hanley which is the city centre. There are two shops, cafe and the lovely garden plus factory tours and etc. She and her husband Matthew Rice have done a lot for Stoke and are great ambassadors for it. They have a literary festival each year too called 'Hot Air' this year's speakers are Tony Parsons, Mary Beard and Kirstie Allsop as well as Emma herself. I'm sure you'd enjoy visiitng the factory and perhaps the potteries museum too which isn't too far away:)

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