Cuddly Reptile Benches for The Year of the Snake

It's 2025, The Year of the Wood Snake. This is special because the Wood Snake only happens every 60 years. 

Eddie, my inner editor: If you have any readers, you've already lost them. Because reptiles aren't cuddly.

Don't worry, I'm not going to show any scary or creepy reptiles. Just cuddly ones and pretty ones, like this chameleon bench.

Tinley Park bench project, Mike Simpson

Eddie: Can't see it.

What about this cute little green one?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bzedan/2124623404 

Eddie: Too frightening for people with ophidiophobia. About a third of the population hate snakes. 

Much Afraid, The Pilgrim's Progress 1683

Blimey, I've very carefully gathered some quite nice reptile benches and a lot of information about The Year of the Snake. And also other reptiles.

Eddie: Terrible idea. Lots of people are herpetophobic. 

That's fear of reptiles, by the way, not fear of getting herpes. 

The Alligator People, 1959 film

Eddie: She looks like she's got it bad. 

I promise, there is nothing horrible in this story. I've very carefully left out any coiled up or slimy or deeply unpleasant-looking creatures.

Eddie: That makes a change.

Eddie, you know I take great care not to upset readers.

Eddie: Two Words:  Insect. Benches.

Karen Baxter, etsy

OK, sorry, but that was years ago. I didn't know ladybirds would offend you.

Eddie: My advice is to lose the snake year. Wait until 2035 when fluffy bunnies come round again.

www.Georgiagerber.com

Or goats. 2027.

www.Ericacrofut.com

But I've done benches for the whole of the zodiac. Except snakes. For the Year of the Dragon I even did komodo dragon benches.

Photo by Toby McAlister

In fact snakes are sometimes called Little Dragons. Maybe think of reptiles as sweet little dragons?

Eddie:  No.

Seriously, Eddie. I don't like reptiles myself. But look, this bench is quite attractive.

Eli Brown Flickr 

Eddie: If you want attractive you should show a picture of me.

Fringe Pop, etsy

Eddie: I was a big hit in The Year of the Monkey.

Rakuten.co.jp 

You were. But that's over now so please, do not show any pictures of monkeys. Just show nice benches and no real snakes. Maybe some lovely lizard benches?

Eddie: What about iguanas? There are some good iguana benches around.

 

Photo by Chris Jackson

Wow, a reptile with Royal approval!

Eddie: This is Blue Peter. King Charles visited him in Grand Cayman a few years ago. He was still a prince then.

Who, Peter?

Eddie: No, Charles. Now get on with it will you. 

Readers may be surprised that people born in the Year of the Snake are sociable, graceful, eloquent, humorous, wise and perceptive.

Eddie: I was born in the Year of the Snake. 

Then you'll know the other qualities of Snake People: they're jealous, suspicious, sly, and cold-blooded.

Eddie: Not me at all. I get on well with everyone.

Snake people get on with Dragons and Roosters.

www.Bellescape.com

But they're not good with Tigers

or Pigs

Niall Kennedy, Flickr

And they should absolutely avoid contact with Horses.

www.3drivers.com.

That's me, by the way. Born in The Year of the Horse.

Eddie: I'm well aware. There is constant disharmony in our relationship.

Snake people are going to find 2025 a very bad year for love. They need to take care with investments too.

Kim Smith, Flickr

Eddie: I'm very good with money as it happens. I can snap up a bargain.

RW Sinclair, acetonic, Flickr

Oh, very clever, Eddie, a crocodile! Or is it an alligator?

Jim Carson, Flickr

Eddie: I can only tell if their mouth is closed. This is an alligator.

I'm impressed what you know about reptiles. Are they always blue? Because this year's lucky colours are black, red and yellow. 

Eddie: Don't get me started on red benches.

What about a nice yellow one then?

Punk Toad, Flickr

Or pink?

Marco Antonioni, Riccioni, Flickr

No, sorry, pink is very unlucky this year. So is purple. Avoid purple benches until next year.

Sandown, Isle of Wight

Eddie: What's happened to The Year of the Snake? We seem to be slithering away from it.

Good point, Eddie. It's a good thing there are two of us working on this story.

Eddie: 'Good things come in pairs' as the Chinese proverb goes. 

www.AtelierSaigon.com

Yes, two is a lucky number this year. Also eight and nine, or a combination of the lucky numbers like 28 or 29. I'd hate to see 29 snakes though. 

 Eddie: Tough luck. Reptile benches aren't so cute. 

Niort, France

This is horrible, Eddie. Let's agree that we aren't going to show scary snake benches.

Eddie: Even though this is The Year of the Snake.

Even then. How about a horned lizard?

Texas Horned Lizard bench, Dallas Zoo

Or a sweet little turtle bench?

www.dragonwooddesigns.com

Eddie: Well, at least turtles are reptiles.

And so much better to look at than snakes.

They're not all creepy and crawly.

Eddie: Babies are creepy and crawly.

Ryan Hayes, Flickr

Eddie: I'm actually terrified of babies. I've been pedophobic ever since I was a baby.

I'm sorry for you, Eddie. Have you seen a psychologist?

Eddie: No, I have a phobia about doctors and therapists. 

That's too bad. People born in The Year of the Snake make very good psychologists.

Eddie: Because they're eloquent, perceptive, wise, etcetera? Or because they're suspicious, sly, and cold-blooded?

That's not fair,  Eddie. Snake people also make good artists, designers, and politicians.

Presidentlincoln.illinois.gov

Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809, a Year of the Snake.

And also Mahatma Gandhi.

poster available on Amazon

Eddie: I think my politicophobia is kicking in. Nests of vipers come to mind.

Are you ok with artists? Paintbrushes, canvas, stained glass?

Eddie: I love art. I am well known in art galleries.

Here is a pretty turtle in faux stained glass. 

Ethereal Token, Etsy

Eddie: Lovely. It's not a bench though.

Here is Pablo Picasso on a bench in Malaga, his home town. 

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Eddie: Some of his pictures trigger my other phobias.

I guess we should stop now then. Though I should also say that February 1st this year is National Serpent Day.

Eddie: It's a good day to coil up with a good book about reptiles.

Happy Year of the Snake then! And crocodile, alligator, gecko, iguana and turtle!

Eddie: OK, see you later alligator.

After while, crocodile.

CREDITS

The Year of the Snake begins on January 29, 2025 and lasts until February 16, 2026. Chinese New Year is an annual event here on Benchsite. 2023 was The Year of the Dragon and there are some very scary benches there, including some serpent benches which are possibly snakes rather than dragons. 2021 was The Year of the Ox and it's a bit of an oxymoron to admit that writing that story was a sweet struggle. Remember 2020? That was the Year of the Rat. 2019 was The Year of the Pig and I'm not telling porkie pies when I say that the pig benches are better than a bacon sandwich. In 2018 we got in a bit of a muddle about unicorns and/or dogs. In 2017 it was the Year of the Rooster and there's quite a bit about Chinese beer in that story as well. The Year of the Monkey Bench went on for far too long in 2016 and contained a lot of monkey business. Back in 2015 it was Goats and/or possibly Sheep Benches. 2014? That was Horse Benches. 

Eddie is my Inner Editor, who just happens to be a primate. If you've seen much of Benchsite you will know what a problem Eddie is for me. He has ruined helped me edit the post about my swimming bench and the Blue Monday benches.  He interfered with stepped in to help with the Orange bench mystery. However, he has a habit of setting his own agenda with the benches. Look what a mess he made great job he did on St. George's Day . And as for my Red benches in February? No wonder I was very grateful seeing red. I had a bit of a break from him last year but now he's back and his primate pictures are in danger of overwhelming my stories. 

The excellent portrait of Eddie looking studious is from Fringepop, an etsy shop in Atlanta, Georgia. https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/fringepop It's full of 8x10 art prints including hipster, pin ups, zombies, steampunk, mermaids, witches, Edgar Allan Poe, Abraham Lincoln, cabinet cards, owls, taxidermy, flappers, octopus, fine art, lowbrow art, and surreal art. Fringepop also has a large selection of roller derby, horror goth, retro kitsch, and circus sideshow. They also love art deco, flapper, and art nouveau pinups and gorgeous deco mermaid art. They specialize in Victorian, medical, sideshow, and other oddity art along with many whimsical animals including squirrels, owls, deer, and ravens. As if this weren't enough, Fringepop loves macabre gothic themes such as skulls and anatomical art. Favorites also include funny designs with retro sayings and a kitsch quality.

Much Afraid is a character from The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, 1683. The daughter of Mr. Despondency, Much Afraid and her father were imprisoned in Doubting Castle by the tyrant Giant Despair.  Released from the castle, Much Afraid danced in the road and apparently she answered the music handsomely.

Some of the insect benches have appeared on Benchsite before, including the pretty ladybird bench by Karen Baxter at her Etsy shop KWB & Co. 

Old Noah dates from biblical times and has a history of saving animal benches. Here in Fribble he saved all our animal benches for World Animals Day. There are all the favourite animals, of course - tigers, camels, pandas, giraffe - but Noah also managed to get some lesser loved creatures - wombats, even a preying mantis - onto the ark. 

If you love animals see which animal benches Noah saved on the Ark. If you like pig benches, then you're looking in the right place and there are more small, large and faraway dog benches at  http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/big-bench-small-bench-cute-and-tiny.html  On the other hand, if you prefer cats, let Meredith show you some fabulous feline benches. Maybe you like rabbits: bunny benches are not just for Easter you know. Sheep? We've got some Baaaaaad ones here on Benchsite. And monkeys? We've got those too. And finally, for the Cream of Bovine Benches, let Lord Brassica show you his cows.

B Zedan does some very creative work, which is shown on Flickr. The splendid little green snake bench was made for a story about Griffen.

The Alligator People is an American science fiction film from 1959. A woman named Barbara goes looking for her husband, who has been turned into an alligator. The film is described as eerie, frightening, and atmospheric. 

The pretty chameleon bench is from a wonderful community bench project in Tinley Park, Illinois. Local residents create themed benches on Oak Park Avenue. In 2022 Animal Adventures was the theme. The photo is by Mike Simpson.

The pretty rabbit bench was made by Georgia Gerber and features in several Benchsite stories about rabbits, Easter, and fluffy bunnies. 

Goats were a thing back in 2015. It was the Year of the Goat http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/2015-year-of-goat-bench.html Erika Crofut from Connecticut made the beautiful goat bench on the porch. It was one of the animal benches Noah saved on his ark back in 2013. Erica has other bright, fun animal benches and sofas on her website at http://www.erikacrofut.com/  

The komodo dragon was photographed by Toby McAlister when he visited Komodo Island back in 2011.

Elliot Brown photographed the brightly coloured metal snake bench in Highgate plaground. Ell Brown lives in Birmingham, and has a HUGE Flickr photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ell-r-brown/    

The cute wooden monkey couple are from Rakuten in Japan. They area favourite of Eddie's and they are featured in The Year of the Monkey, as you might expect. But they also turn up elsewhere, whatever the bench story is about. 

In March 2019 the then-Prince Charles visited Grand Cayman island where he met and stroked a beautiful blue iguana named Blue Peter. Our now king is so seldom seen smiling that it is a pleasure to see him so delighted. This scene is much photographed; this photo is by Chris Jackson. 

2017 was The Year of the Rooster at  http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/china-in-year-of-rooster-bench.html The charming rustic rooster and chicken bench is from www.bellesscape.com in Los Gatos, California. http://belleescape.com/painted-country-rooster-hen-bench.html The bench features a special hand-painted rooster and chicken design on the back rest. The papaya finish has been lightly distressed to add an antique feel. Belleescapes has just about every kind of chic furniture you can imagine: farmhouse, industrial, cottage, bohemian, cosmo, Provence, vineyard and even shabby chic. Cottage style? They've got coastal, earthy . . . I'll stop there. You can have a look for yourself.

The pig bench was outside the Healdsburg Charcuterie in Healdsburg, California in 2010. It was photographed by Niall Kennedy, a software engineer who likes hiking, dogs, food, travel and scenes around his home and work in the San Francisco and Silicon Valley.  https://www.flickr.com/photos/niallkennedy/4886919707/

The handsome black and gold horse is by 3D Rivers, whose mission is to help the internet community meet the growing need for a wide range of well-designed, high quality 3D models and consumer goods products in a constantly changing environment. They offer a huge range of 3D products including things like buildings, transport, everyday objects, characters, model packs, animals, and yes, of course, benches. This Indian-style horse is one of the many different kinds of benches available via their online site at  http://www.3drivers.com/ He has already appeared on Benchsite as one of the animals on Noah's Ark. 

Kim Smith owns a dramatic web design company in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She photographed the money bench in 2007. Her photo sets contains lots of friends and family and her landscapes make Michigan look like a beautiful place. In fact, Mackinac Island doesn't look so different from my own Paradise Island . . . http://www.flickr.com/photos/k

The lifelike crocodile bench was photographed by RW Sinclair, aka acetonic on Flickr. 

The saw-tooth crocodile bench is a little scary. It's in the Crossroads Mall in Bellevue, Washington. I don't know if I'd want to sit down on it even if I had shoppers' feet.  Jim Carson from Seattle photographed it in 2009. It's part of his photostream at  http://www.flickr.com/photos/carson/   Jim's cycling photos of rural Washington, Oregon and Idaho bring back the happy travelling days of my childhood. According to Jim, Wallace, Idaho is the centre of the universe. 

The other little wooden bench is, I think, an alligator bench from Disney World in Florida.

The twisty yellow bench was photographed by Punk Toad on flickr. It is one of many bright, cheery yellow benches told in the Benchsite story about yellow benches for Spring.

The pink bench against a pink wall is by Marco Antonioni, aka Riccione on Flickr. This particular bench featured in a Benchsite story all about pink and gray benches during the time when that gray book was very, very popular. 

The purple bench was one of several outside a hotel in Sandown, Isle of wight. I was so inspired by them that I went home and painted two of my benches purple. 

The pair of papier mache crocodile benches were for sale at Saigon Atelier in Vietnam in 2010.

The scary serpent bench is at Niort in France. I love Noirt and I love France but unfortunately, the city was apparently terrorized in 1692 by a giant snake with wings which devoured its population. Eventually a brave soldier slew the thing and now what's left are four bronze dragons on the main shopping street. 

There are lots of garden benches made of sturdy concrete. One such bench is the Texas Horned Lizard bench at Dallas Zoo. It appears on Pinterest, Flickr and elsewhere, having been photographed by many, many people. 

Dragonwood Designs in Pennsylvania make a lot of things out of wood, including the little green turtle bench.  www.etsy.com/shop/dragonwooddesigns

Dragonwood's owner is a professional cabinetmaker/woodworker who designs and makes unique and beautiful furniture and objets d'art from woods such as honduras mahogany, walnut, bubinga, hard maple and German beech. 

It is well established here on Benchsite that Eddie is scared of babies. That's understandable perhaps, given the very large crawling baby, which features in many Benchsite Halloween posts. Ryan Hayes, from Texas, saw The Giant Scary Baby on the Mala Strana in Prague back in 2009. Ryan's photostream is oneflameinthefire at Flickr. 

The lovely turtle suncatcher is faux stain glass, made from acrylic and sold by the Ethereal Token Etsy shop.

There are quite a few statues of Abraham Lincoln around the United States. This one is in Illinois.

This is a well known picture of Mahatma Gandhi. It is available as a poster on Amazon. 

The artist Pablo Picasso is sitting on a bench in Malaga, Spain, the city where he was born.

Noah's Ark Benches for World Animal Day

  We found old Noah on his bench in the park

and asked his advice on loading the ark.

It rained so long that we thought Crikey!
A flood of biblical proportions looks likely.

Though rounding up animals is quite a chore
Noah knew how - he'd done it before.

So the Fribble lads and the Drizzly wenches
set out to save our animal benches.

Wenches is a silly word. Is it just here to keep the rhyme? Editor

The big ones went first:  the tigers

www.asianreplicas.com

the cows




http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2007-08

the zebra

http://www.lifesize-models.co.uk

the buffalo

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61278305@N00/

the sun bear

http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenzowie

the sows.

©Pamela Silin-Palmer 2013

Noah referred to his Ancient Ark Planner
and asked them to wait in an orderly manner.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scarycrow/

The wolves howled their protest 

www.artwooddesigns.com

The owl was a screecher

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Owl_Bench

but we wanted to save each precious creature.

Dubious rhyme here, Seashell. Do sort yourself out. Editor.


The foxes

photo by Joanna Michalak

the horned frog

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61278305@N00/

the bunnies

©Pamela Silin-Palmer 2013

the sheep

http://www.philart.net/

each animal bench we wanted to keep.* 

*Except snakes. I hate snakes.

The squirrel bench

 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Station_bench

and peacock 

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bench_in_Jinnah

we put on the boat, along with the wombat

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/

the horse

http://thequeenofcreativity.blogspot.com

and the goat.

http://www.erikacrofut.com/

What about pandas? I'd like to see a panda bench. Editor



There was space for the badgers

http://www.thecarvedtree.co.uk/

a place for the frogs

www.etsy.com/shop/rustilee

adorable monkeys

http://www.rakuten.co.jp/kanmuryou/

and a couple of dogs.

http://www.dogmt.com/

Some were wood 

www.etsy.com/shop/dragonwooddesigns

and some were stone

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ell-r-brown/

some were skeletons

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mieke/

and some were bone.

www.marenakos.com

That's lucky. Those dogs will need something to eat. Ed.

There were lots of lovely paw benches saved

http://thequeenofcreativity.blogspot.com

though some of the dogs were not well behaved.

www.straightlinedesigns.com

You could take off some of those dogs and save a panda.  Ed.

What's with the pandas? They get enough publicity as it is. 



What about dragonflies?

www.cottageandbungalow.com

What about bats?*

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dziadzia/

*It seems to have escaped your notice that these are baseball bats. Ed.



Centipedes matter!

www.louishenri.com

and so do cats.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lehcar1477

There's space for a rabbit

http://www.georgiagerber.com/

and a lizard, of course

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mosaic_street_bank.jpg

we can fit in a deer

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bruno_Weber

and another nice horse. 

http://www.3drivers.com/

So why no panda then? Why two horses and no panda? Ed.


We can fit in a snail if it's not very big

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SnailBench

Here's a nice salamander

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PikiWiki_Israel_7389

and some lovely pink pigs.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hangcat/

We couldn't find spiders or chickens or drakes

What about reptiles?

No way am I googling benches and snakes. 



Here's a crocodile bench, if you really insist

http://www.flickr.com/photos/carson/

and a lovely giraffe that we just about missed

http://www.playlinedesign.co.uk/

Here's a beautiful camel that will really enchant us

http://www.flickr.com/photos/houseofsecrets/

and last but not least, a praying mantis.

www.etsy.com/shop/dragonwooddesigns

Enchant us and mantis is a terrible rhyme. Ed.

I know. It's a half rhyme.

No, it isn't. It's just rubbish. 

What about leprechauns?

                                                    www.etsy/shop/uneekdesigns

What about rats?

                                     benchsite.blogspot.com.The-Year-of-the-Rat-Bench

What about unicorns?

                                         benchsite.blogspot.com.we-all-scream-for-ice-cream                                                                                                       

And trolls?

                                              Kelly Riley @ coyoterimstudios          

And bats?

We've already done bats. Ed

Rats then. 2020 was the Year of the Rat.

Rats to that. 

Trolls and leprechauns should go on The Ark shouldn't they?

No. Trolls and leprachauns do not exist. 

That's because they didn't make it onto The Ark.

Unicorns do not exist either.

I beg your pardon. Ursula is our Unicorn-in-Residence here in Fribble-under-Par. She's a peace campaigner, a romantic, and a lover of ice cream.

I have only one thing to say to that. Ed 

                                        https://www.flickr.com/photos/trilbybutton/3390098439/

Wait! A couple more camels were found in the park!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oiyou/

We need to ensure they are saved in the ark. 

It's pretty crowded though.

www.larcobaleno.com

I wonder how many chameleons have snuck on? 

We don't have a full count gecause Old Noah occasionally has a senior moment.

Is that it?

That's it. That's the ark full, with all the animal benches loaded.

www.etsy.com/shop/ventrytoys

What about snakes?

Oh, alright, here's one. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ell-r-brown/

What about pandas? 

Sorry, couldn't find one. They're very elusive you know.

And what happened to the rhyme? It seems to have become as extinct as the dodo.

Best I can do. 

Hasn't Noah done a marvelous job rounding up all these animal benches?


In celebration of all animals 
on World Animal Day 2021


( Including pandas)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/artompotamus/

And here is a Panda Banquette with all the pandas you could possibly need.

www.larcobaleno.com

Credits


Isn't Noah splendid? I found him in the RSPCA charity shop back in 2013 when Benchsite began. As the shop helps to rescue thousands of animals every day, I just knew this was Noah and I couldn't wait to write a blog about him. Some people have expressed concern that he is smoking a pipe and of course smoking is bad for health and October is Stoptober month. However, as Noah is several millennia old now, I don't think this is a problem. 

I found the boat bench far from the sea in a beautiful walled garden high on the hill overlooking Wells Cathedral and Glastonbury Tor in Somerset. More boat benches are rocking up at http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/boat-benches.html 

The white Siberian tiger bench is from Asian Replicas, who make a huge variety of lifesize statues and furniture in the Philippines www.asianreplicas.com   Elsewhere on Benchsite you will find their edible benches such as tacos and ice creams. You could also have pizza bench, a cake bench, or a chicken and chips bench. Their extensive catalog is at http://www.ardt.biz/ARDTCatalog2013/ARDT_Catalog_2013.zip

The cow bench was photographed by Ralf Lotys in Kothen, Anhalt in 2007. Kothen is a city in Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. The cow bench appears in Wikimedia at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2007-08_K%C3%B6then_(Anhalt)_12.jpg  Let Lord Brassica, Fifth Earl of Drizzly, show you the cream of bovine benches.

The zebra is from Jolly Roger Ltd. Lifesize Models in the UK. http://www.lifesize-models.co.uk  They have thousands of quality resin and fibre-glass 3D life-size models, figures, signs, statues, props, furnishings, etc. Their showroom has over 2000 themed models, which include animals, people, and everything from counter-top coffee beans to fullsize elephants. Their Facebook page shows some of the models in amazing situations  https://www.facebook.com/TheJollyRogerLtd  You will also find them talked about on Twitter https://twitter.com/lifesizemodels

The splendid buffalo bench is from Papillion, Nebraska, photographed by Jimmy Emerson in 2012. He also photographed the delightful horned frog bench in Springerville, Arizona in 2010.  Jimmy lives in Georgia and likes to photograph county courthouses and post offices. He hopes to visit all 3,143 counties or county equivalents in the United States and from the looks of his photostream, he's made a very good start. http://www.flickr.com/photos/61278305@N00/

The sunbear is known for having an extraordinarily long tongue. The sunbear's tongue bench at Edinburgh Zoo is much photographed. This photo is by Greenzowie at Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenzowie/with/8731733772/  I don't know anything about greenzowie but there are some excellent model shoots on the photostream, as well as glorious landscapes from a wide variety of places. 

The howlin' wolf bench is by Eric Widitz in Fox River Grove, Illinois. Eric is a chainsaw sculptor who makes all kinds of statues and furniture from huge chunks of American wood. A lot of his stuff has a nature theme but he does people as well. See his catalogue and videos of his work at www.artwooddesigns.com   This bench also appears on Benchsite in a very different context at festivals

There are many splendid bird benches here on Benchsite. Turkeys, for example. And chickens. The Great British Bird Bench survey also yielded a lot of brilliant birds, including owls. The Owl Bench is near Bowling Harbour in central Scotland, photographed in 2009 by Lairich Rig. In the background are the Kilpatrick Hills. 

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Owl_Bench_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1423367.jpg

The colourful fox and badger bench is near Ryde, Isle of Wight. It was photographed by Joanna Michalak earlier this year. It is inscribed in loving memory to Eric and Joyce Harris from Stephen and Christine Harris.

Paul Sivell makes intriguing chainsaw sculptures and is inspired by nature, local traditions, and mythology. His distinctive style is well known around the Isle of Wight though he also works throughout the UK and abroad. The badger bench is one of his many functional sculptures (benches!) which can be seen at http://www.thecarvedtree.co.uk/

The wombat photo is by Mike Cogh, who has an extensive collection of brilliant benches on his Flickr photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/ I was delighted to find this wombat just in time for World Animals Day. I can honestly say it's the only wombat bench I have ever seen.  

Pamela Silin-Palmer is a decorative artist, fine artist, and illustrator who now lives in Ireland. She makes magical paintings, greeting cards, dolls, paper products, and glorious hand-painted fantasy furniture. From renaissance rabbits to royal boars, her website is full of fun and fantasy - a real delight! www.pamelasilinpalmer.com  She provided the pigs and bunny benches in this story. There are loads of lovely bunny benches around but I thought these the loveliest of all.

Three Men on a Bench are waiting patiently to enter the ark. They are dressed appropriately as a deer, a pig and a horse. The photo is from Davey Scarycrow, who likes to photograph assemblages, birthday parties on benches, and vintage stuff, including old cars. I think I recognised my old 1976 Ford Fiesta in his photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/scarycrow/3520051220/sizes/m/in/photolist-6n4bAh/

I've done Sheep Benches before. Oh, indeed I have. With my artist/designer hat on I have even made sheep benches, like this one, entitled Don't B Sheepish 2.

Don't B Sheepish 2, subtitled Bathmat on a Piano Bench, is available for $4,500. Contact Bo-pEEp via this blogspot. No, just joking. Benchsite is non-commercial and always will be. 

The sheep bench shown in this post is one of several bench sculptures called Eastwick Park Farm, made by Rosalie Sherman in 1983 as part of the ongoing Philadelphia Public Art project. It includes a vast array of public art: 846 sculptures, fountains, mosaics, memorials and, of course, benches, scattered all around Philadelphia. There are driving site tours and maps for locating the art. The scale of the Philart project is really quite something and it's being added to all the time.  http://www.philart.net/

The Squirrel Bench is near the station at Grange-over-Sands in Cumbria. It was photographed by John Illingworth in 2006 for Geograph
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Station_bench_-_geograph.org.uk_-_241759.jpg

The elegant peacock bench is in Jinnah Garden in Lahore, Pakistan. It was photographed in 2010 by Khalid Mahmood

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bench_in_Jinnah_Garden_Lahore.jpg

As 2014 is The Year of the Horse, I thought horses ought to have a blog of their own. And so they have. We galloped into the new year with a lot of gorgeous horses. 

The first horse and the lovely pawprint benches were photographed by Kate Robertson from Idaho Falls. Kate is the Queen of Creativity. She describes herself as a painter, mixed media artist, weaver, spinner and writer. Besides that, she photographs all kinds of stuff wherever she goes on her creative pursuits. She is a Kaizen-Muse creativity coach and she has loads of ideas on how to get your creative mojo working. She has various blogs; I first saw her at http://thequeenofcreativity.blogspot.com

And 2015 is the Year of the Goat bench. Erika Crofut from Connecticut made the beautiful goat bench and she has other bright, fun animal benches and sofas on her website at http://www.erikacrofut.com/  Erika explains that she has always loved the process of transforming a thought from my head into something physical that can be shared with people . . . My projects are all attempts to interpret and visually articulate ties between history, family, and stories. . .  I use my art to express my amazement and gratitude for how beautiful an average day can be.  

Rusti Lee from Colorado made the cheerful green frog stool. Rusti's shop is at www.etsy.com/shop/rustilee  She makes whimsical handpainted stuff for the home, especially knobs, frames, boxes, and more. I love her painted signs.  

The lovely carved wood Japanese monkey couple are from http://www.rakuten.co.jp/kanmuryou/   If you particularly like monkey benches, or for that matter, dragons, there are plenty of monkeys and dragons at http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/monkey-business-on-st-georges-day.html  And remember that 2016 is the Year of the Monkey so Eddie, my Inner Editor, finally gets his say at http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/2016-year-of-monkey-bench.html

I was intrigued when I saw Studio Job, the black and white bench of animal skeletons by Mieke Tacken in Amsterdam. Mieke's photostream shows a real commitment to design: she goes to all the design shows and takes photos of amazing things. Like some other people I know, she seems to have an interest in photographing seating of various kinds. Chairs? There are thousands. And quite a few brilliant benches too.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/mieke/

The two stately Labradors were made by Stephen Huneck, a self-taught sculptor who carved by hand. The Stephen Huneck Gallery is at Dog Mountain, in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. http://www.dogmt.com/  Dog Mountain is set on a 150 acre private mountaintop and is always open to people and their dogs. Its unspoiled haven is covered with hiking trails and dog ponds. There is no leash law on Dog Mountain: dogs are not just welcome here, they are cherished! Dogs are free to run, play, swim and best of all meet other dogs! Stephen's artworks, include paintings, sculptures, books, and a Dog Chapel, "A place where people can go and celebrate the spiritual bond they have with their dogs. It is the largest artwork of my life and my most personal." Stephen died in 2010 but his love of dogs lives on in his artwork.

The stone elephant bench is at Jephson Gardens in Leamington Spa in the UK. It was photographed by Ell Brown, who lives in Birmingham and has a HUGE Flickr photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ell-r-brown/    Elliot Brown also photographed the snake bench at the end of the story. It's from the Highgate Playground in Birmingham. I found it just about non-snakey enough to put on the ark. 

Dog benches are very popular here on Benchsite and a dogbone bench comes in handy when you have a lot of hungry dog benches to feed. The Tenino Dogbone bench is from Marenakos in Preston, Washington. They make a variety of granite dogbone and other types of benches.  www.marenakos.com   There are some very nice medical dogs on Benchsite at http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/feelgood-medical-benches-for-world.html

The lifted leg dog bench is actually a table: it's called Bad Table. It's one of many flabbergasting designs made by Judson Beaumont at Straight Line Designs Inc. in Vancouver.  None of these designs are straight lines; each one throws a wobbly in an entirely different way.    www.straightlinedesigns.com

The pretty dragonfly bench is by Cottage and Bungalow and costs $2,260. It's at www.cottageandbungalow.com a small store which offers personal one-to-one service in furniture, quality home furnishings and accessories. Their coastal home products make you want to go out and live on the beach. As for animal benches, they do a stunning blue peacock, a dolphin, and the pretty dragonfly shown here.  For more intriguing insect benches, see what's buzzing for National Insect Week at http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/national-insect-week-buzz-about-benches.html

I was aware that these are baseball bats rather than animal bats. This bat bench is the suitably named Johnny Bench baseball bench. It's in Cincinnati and was photographed by Tuscola Joe way back in 2003 and made available on the Flickr Creative Commons.http://www.flickr.com/photos/dziadzia/  See Miggy's choice of good sport benches at http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/miggys-good-sport-benches.html

Louis Henri's Shongololo bench is inspired by his African roots; shongololo is the Zulu word used for centipedes and millipedes. The Shongololo bench has 56 hand-turned walnut legs. Louis Henri Bührmann grew up in South Africa in a family of designers and innovators. He now resides in London where he produces opulent interiors and distinctive designs at his own business www.louishenri.com  Louis' Twitter is at  www.twitter.com/louishenrii

The cat bench was made by sculptor Don Drumm, who, in conjunction with Cricket Forge, makes a variety of sculptural pieces for galleries, gifts, and gardens. The cat bench shown here was photographed by Rachel at Ravenwood Curio Shoppe in Jackson, New Hampshire. Rachel has a photostream full of gorgeous images. She loves autumn and there are a lot of beautiful pictures of New Hampshire and pumpkins and Halloween. There are beaches and beach house and surfing and all manner of interesting things at http://www.flickr.com/photos/lehcar1477   If you like cats, you'll want to see the purrfect benches I found for World Cats Day. And cats who play the piano? No problem, tune in here. 

Georgia Gerber sculpted the beautiful bronze rabbit. Georgia creates bronze sculpture primarily working with life size animal and human figures, often incorporating architectural or abstract elements with an emphasis on creating accessible public art which encourages viewer interaction. She has an amazing studio and garden at Whidbey Island, Washington. Her bronze sculptures can be seen at http://www.georgiagerber.com/    For more sunny bunny benches see http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/sunny-bunny-easter-benches.html

The bright blue mosaic lizard is a street bench in Adelaide, Australia. It was photographed by Dinkum in 2010.   http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mosaic_street_bank.jpg

The deer is by Bruno Weber on Uetliberg in the canton of Zurich. It was photographed by Roland zh  and made available on Wikimedia at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bruno_Weber_-_Uetliberg_IMG_1657.jpg

The second horse is from 3D Rivers, whose mission is to help the internet community meet the growing need for a wide range of well-designed, high quality 3D models and consumer goods products in a constantly changing environment. They offer a huge range of 3D products including things like buildings, transport, everyday objects, characters, model packs, animals, and yes, of course, benches. This Indian-style horse is one of the many different kinds of benches available via their online site at  http://www.3drivers.com/

The snail bench is in Priory Country Park in Bedfordshire. It was photographed by Simon Speed in 2010 and comes from Wikimedia at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SnailBenchPrioryCountryPark.JPG?uselang=en-gb

The salamander bench is  by Yael Shmueli in Herzliya in Israel. It was photographed by  אבישי טייכר   and appears in Wiki Commons at  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PikiWiki_Israel_7389_bench_in_shape_of_salamandra.jpg?uselang=en-gb

The two cheery pink pigs were photographed by Hangcat in Chicago. He's a young photographer who makes the most of his city by capturing quirky features of city life. He does benches too, and graffiti that people write on benches. Hmmmm, that's got me thinking of another post . . . http://www.flickr.com/photos/hangcat/

The saw-tooth crocodile bench is a little scary. It's in the Crossroads Mall in Bellevue, Washington. I don't know if I'd want to sit down on it even if I had shoppers' feet.  Jim Carson from Seattle photographed it in 2009. It's part of his photostream at  http://www.flickr.com/photos/carson/   Jim's cycling photos of rural Washington, Oregon and Idaho bring back the happy travelling days of my childhood. According to Jim, Wallace, Idaho is the centre of the universe. 

The giraffe bench is one of a range of recycled plastic animal-themed benches made by Playline Design in Devon in the UK. There's also a hedgehog, a dinsosaur and a frog  http://www.playlinedesign.co.uk/devon-planters-seating-5  The business  provides active and imaginative playground equipment for schools, holiday parks and local authorities throughout the UK. They also cater for special educational needs children with a variety of play equipment based around visual stimulation, and sensory items such as sand and water play. 

The gorgeous camel bench was photographed by Hilde Heyvaert at Adventureland in Disneyland, Paris. Hilde's Flickr photostream is called House of Secrets Inc. and it certainly is full of secrets and surprises:  festivals, animals, costumes and loads of colourful stuff from Disneyland Paris. http://www.flickr.com/photos/houseofsecrets/  Hilde lives in Belgium and is described as a steampunk fashionista extraordinaire. She writes for The Gatehouse, a blog about all things steampunk and dieselpunk. 

I felt so lucky to find the praying mantis bench, which is from Dragonwood Designs in Pennsylvania.So is the little green turtle bench.  www.etsy.com/shop/dragonwooddesigns
Dragonwood's owner is a professional cabinetmaker/woodworker who designs and makes unique and beautiful furniture and objets d'art from woods such as honduras mahogany, walnut, bubinga, hard maple and German beech. I try to provide an eclectic mixture of meticulously crafted furniture with useful items integrating natural aspects of the materials with which I work. I strive to create the sublime as well as the mundane, furniture and objects which are unique designs and not available anywhere else. That has certainly been achieved with the praying mantis bench; I didn't see one anywhere else! 

Trilby Button is interested in color, texture, illustration, words on walls, and weird hair. Back in 2009 her Second Life avatar got involved in the first of the Unicorn Wars. I’m not certain but I think Trilby was on the Pro-unicorn side. https://www.flickr.com/photos/trilbybutton/3390098439/in/photolist

The camels who just made it onto the ark at the end are from Andy Davison in London. The camel bench-ends were photographed on the London Embankment along the River Thames. Andy's camels are part of a varied photostream which includes ciabatta bread, cats, and lots and lots of football games. http://www.flickr.com/photos/oiyou/

The jumble of animals is called the Cake Stool. It's by brothers Fernando and Humberto Campana at the mind-blowing design company L'arco Baleno. http://www.larcobaleno.com/ The Cake Stool is described as "an iconic example of the Campana brothers’ signature style" and we see it again with the Panda Banquette at the end of the story. These playful pieces repurpose stuffed animals, which the brothers Campana consider 'a humble, often overlooked material'. The Cake Stool is described as ". . . a poetic, vibrant stool, that plays on the irony in these soft representations of predatory animals. The stuffed animals are hand-sewn onto canvas stretched over a stainless steel structure. Another exemplar of this limited edition of 150 is in the collection of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts." The Panda Banquette is is a limited edition of 25. At $44,170 it's the most expensive bench ever featured on Benchsite.

Noah's Ark, fully loaded, is a wooden toy made by Rosario at Ventry Toys in Tralee in Ireland. It was photographed at Ventry harbour and really looks ready to go. www.etsy.com/shop/ventrytoys

The joke about how many chameleons might have snuck onto the ark is by Adam Hess and is one of the best one liners from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2017. That's not just me saying so - it's on the official list.

The snake bench was photographed by Elliot Brown at Highgate Park -Adventure Playground in Birmingham.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/ell-r-brown/

Kritterville USA makes brightly coloured and very cute benches, chairs and stools. The panda bench was photographed in 2010 and appears in Kritterville's photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/artompotamus/ There are also frogs, beetles, bugs, and a variety of other kritters. 

Eddie, my Inner Editor feels that primates did not get their fair dues in this story so I've agreed, as usual, to let Eddie put up a picture of himself. Here he is last summer with his Factor 500 suncream and everything he needs for a day at the beach.