#platypus — Public Fediverse posts

I haven't drawn my platypus character, Beckett, in quite a while so I decided to change that!

#furry #furries #furryfandom #fursona #furryart #animalart #anthroart #art #artwork #drawing #fullbody #platypus #personalart #MastoArt

For the Fish River Canyon and Drakensberg trip I have my cooking setup settled and there are some luxury items.

- I am taking a Fozzils Snapbowl for when I need a bowl. Doubles as a cutting board. (https://www.fozzils.com/product-page/snapfold-bowlz). It fits nicely into the back stretch pocket of the backpack.

- A long handle spork.

- A Victorinox Soldier's knife. It has all the necessary utilities for emergencies. The made blade is serrated and sharp. I have used it in the past to even cut open tins. (https://www.amazon.es/-/en/Victorinox-Schweizer-Soldatenmesser-Functions-Including/dp/B002RWXZ7E)

- A spreading knife, because it works better than the pocket knife's big blade. It is my one luxury item.

- All the cutlery items go into a small Hilltop tent stake bag. I purposely bought the one with the meat print. (https://hilltoppacks.com/products/tent-stake-stuff-sacks-funny-prints?variant=38878721867961)

- MSR Pocket Rocket DLX. Slightly heavier than some other compact stoves, but it burns more efficiently, has a regulator and a piezo igniter. (https://cascadedesigns.com/en-eu/products/pocketrocket-deluxe-stove).

- Lightload Towel as a dish cloth. It is super lightweight, recycable and lasts for many days. (https://www.litesmith.com/lightload-towels/).

- MSR Titan 900ml kettle. (https://cascadedesigns.com/en-eu/products/titan-kettle-900ml)

- MSR Titan Double Wall mug 375 ml. It fits inside the kettle. (https://cascadedesigns.com/en-eu/products/titan-double-wall-mug).

- All the cookware goes inside a Hilltop stuff sack, including one gas canister. (https://hilltoppacks.com/products/stuff-sacks-w-custom-printing-challenge-d50t-fabric?variant=45960307114241)

- I have one large food bag from Hilltop (https://hilltoppacks.com/collections/food-bags-bear-bags/products/food-bags-w-custom-printing-challenge-d50t-fabric-bear-bag-5) as well as 2nd snack bag. At this point I might take another Hilltop bag instead of the Sea to Summit drybag for the latter purpose.

- As these hikes are in Southern Africa, a common practice is to eat rusks with morning coffee / tea. I keep these in a plastic container to prevent them from becoming crumbs.

- My second luxury item is a Platypus 800ml wine bag, because we like to sip some red wine in the evening. When it is empty it rolls up really small (https://cascadedesigns.com/en-eu/products/platy-preserve).

This whole setup is < 900g.

I did not include a emergency matches or a lighter in this list as that will go into the emergency and first aid bag.

#whatsinyourpack #hiking #cooking #traillfood #fishrivercanyon #drakensberg #namibia #southafrica #msrgear #hilltoppacks #platypus #victorinox #fozzils

Water system for the Fish River Canyon in 2026.

- Clean water goes in Mazama MGO 1lt bottles. Probably taking two.
- Electrolytes are mixed in Thirsti 500ml bottle (This is a disposable bottle purchasable in South Africa and much like a Smart Water bottle).
- Water filter is a Platypus Quickdraw and a CNOC 2lt bag only for for dirty water.
- A drinking pipe is connected to one of th MGO bottles.

Water situation is different this year than for the very dry 2024 we experienced, so final decisions will only be made closer to the time. However one always wants to have at least 2lt of clean water, but having the capacity for 3lt is better.

#whatsinyourpack #hiking #fishrivercanyon #namibia #mazama #cnoc #platypus

Remember the Urunga wetlands waste tailings rich in antimony, arsenic, lead and cyanide?

"For five years in the 1960s and 1970s, antimony and other heavy metals leached from an ore processing plant into the melaleuca wetlands. The wetlands used to open up into a moonscape of light grey sand with not a single bit of vegetation."
>>
https://www.crownland.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-07/Urunga-Wetlands-fact-sheet.pdf
https://majorprojects.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/prweb/PRRestService/mp/01/getContent?AttachRef=SSD-5357%2120190227T035916.488%20GMT

Now they want to go for Wild Cattle Creek 'high-grade and high-tonnage' antimony-gold mining >>
https://www.listcorp.com/asx/tmg/trigg-minerals-limited/news/acquisition-of-globally-significant-antimony-project-3091939.html

A Clarence Catchment Alliance community meeting

is being hosted by the Bellingen Environment Centre,
with Blicks River Guardians and Lock the Gate Nambucca,
from 2pm on Friday May 31 at 16 Cudgery St, Dorrigo.
>>
https://clarencevalleynews.com.au/clarence-catchment-alliance-community-meeting/
#NSW #Dorrigo #Urunga #remediation #CoffsHarbour #mining #antimony #gold #extractivism #harm #WildCattleCreek #WCC #water #contamination #wetlands #rivers #waterways #freshwater #MarineWater #platypus #biodiversity #BellingenShire

Enough water for #nuclear reactors in #NSW but scientists worry about #wildlife

July 19, 2024

"The federal opposition has proposed seven #NuclearPowerPlants across the country if it wins the next election.

"Its plan involves building the plants on retiring or retired #coal sites, including two in #NewSouthWales, at #Liddell in the #HunterValley and #MountPiper near #Lithgow.

[...]

#Environmental concerns

"The environmental impact of both [closed-loop and once through] systems has raised concerns in #conservation groups.

"While the closed-loop system does not return water warmer to the supply than when it was taken out, the once-through cooling process does.

"Professor Johnson said changes to the temperature of #LakeLyell and #LakeLiddell could be harmful aquatic native #wildlife.

"'#Ecosystems are evolved and used to a certain temperature range, so when temperatures are higher than that, it can change all the things that live in the river,' she said.

"Jacqui Mills from the NSW Nature Conservation Council believed the once-through cooling method could have #catastrophic consequences.

"'If you have hot water discharges, it will very likely kill microorganisms,' Ms Mills said.

"'That has a flow-on impact for the creatures that rely on them like #platypus. It basically disrupts the #environment.'

"Julie Favell from the Lithgow Environment Group said recent examples of coal and other #mining industries breaching #environmental #regulations gave her 'no confidence' that a #NuclearPlant would be safe.

"'Over the past 20 years we have seen so many impacts on #swamps, #waterways, the damage in most cases is irreversible,' she said.

"'You cannot erase human error and natural disasters. There would be nothing left if one of those incidents happened.'"

Full article:
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/enough-water-for-nuclear-reactors-in-nsw-but-scientists-worry-about-wildlife/ar-BB1qiCm2

#NoNukes #NoNukesAustralia #Australia #Solar #Tidal #RenewablesNow #ProtectWildlife #ProtectNature #WaterIsLife

One man’s pilgrimage navigating on foot along the Brisbane River
Everything is Water by Simon Cleary

"The shadow a city can cast upon its river before it is no longer a river”.

"He asks whether our urges to categorise and organise might be “unhelpful” and “prevent us from other ways of seeing”."

"It’s something deeper; a bodily recognition and lament at how swiftly white settlement has desecrated and altered a landscape which Indigenous people have cared for so intimately. One of Cleary’s refrains is that what used to be “kangaroo and emu country” is now considered “cattle country”."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/jun/06/everything-is-water-by-simon-cleary-review-one-mans-pilgrimage-along-brisbane-river
#rivers #FootTraffic #walking #Australia #Brisbane #Bellingen #SettlerSociety #livestock #Bellinger #water #cattle #Biodiversity #wildlife #platypus

Pets, pesticides and polluted rivers

"Fipronil and imidacloprid are widely used in flea treatments, which are typically applied to the back of the pet’s neck once a month.These two chemicals are extremely potent neurotoxic insecticides and it is deeply concerning that they are routinely found on the hands of dog owners through ongoing contact with their pet. Pet owners will also be upset to learn that they are accidentally polluting our rivers by using these products.”

"The insecticides used in the flea products flow down household drains when pet owners wash their hands after applying the treatment. Wastewater from sewage treatment works is a leading source of fipronil and imidacloprid pollution in rivers, with concentrations exceeding safe limits for wildlife."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/01/vets-pesticide-flea-treatments-river-pollution-pet-owners-toxic-insecticides-hands
#pesticide #pets #dogs #cats #wildlife #rivers #pollution #OneHealth #neonicotinoids #neurotoxins #fipronil #Bellinger #platypus #BellingerRiverSnappingTurtle

#Lego #Dinosaur #extinct #animals builds at #Brickresales #Brisbane
All my designs
#kronosaurus #platypterygius #muttaburrasaurus #australotitan #wintonotitan #thapunngaka #mythunga #ferrodraco #kunburrasaurus #minmi #leaellynasaura #procoptodon #diprotodon #kangaroo #echidna #platypus #goanna #magpie #rainbow #lorikeet #kookaburra #tasmaniandevil #koala #wombat #wedgetailedeagle

Not great photos, but I'm pleased to have had the chance to catch up with some #Tasmanian #wildlife over the last week, including #TasmanianDevil in Loongana (#MountainValley), Duck-billed #Platypus in #Loongana and #Eugenana (#TasmanianArboretum), Bare-nosed Wombat at #CradleMountain and Red-bellied Pademelon everywhere.

#mammals #Australia