szescstopni @szescstopni@qoto.org

#SilentSunday afternoon in a #wetlands #forest in #Polesia

Thou shall not pass, said the #beavers. Hold our beer, said #IdąPsięta.

#Polesia #wetlands

Pietruszka cosplaying a #beaver. No, she did not gnaw those branches clean, real #beavers did it.

#IdaPsięta #DogsOfMastodon #wetlands

On closer inspection those anti-slip elements turn out to be small #polypore #fungi.

Found a neat bridge made by #beavers – this time it was equipped with and anti-slip feature.

#Polesia #wetlands

There are no swan mussels left, only their shells remain. #IdaPsięta are very disappointed.

Those mussels are some of the largest freshwater mussels, reaching 20 cm in length. The pocket knife placed for comparison is 9 cm long.

On closer look the spots turn out to be dead swan mussels (Anodonta cygnea), a species found only in very clean water.

There is very little water left in the deepest part of the pond. Animal tracks suggest that deer still come here to drink. Or maybe to eat those small bright dots lying all around.

This is Janusz Pond today. All the water has been let out exposing the muddy bottom. The company that operated the pond did not extend its lease and the whole fish operation was shut down.

This is Janusz Pond a few years ago. It borders the Polesian National Park in Western #Polesia. A few ponds like Janusz were included in the park on its formation in 1990 and they look much wilder.

This was close to a roadside shrine which recently got new plastic flowers. Someone just dumped the old ones in the grass, instead of putting them in the recycling bin. Religion kills nature.

Found this weird plant on a rural road and thought I should check with #iNaturalist, but fortunately my wife is much wiser than I.

Masza's idea of what "coming out of the blue" means.

#IdąPsięta #DogsOfMastodon #pole

Masza on the Emerald Road.

#IdąPsięta #DogsOfMastodon #Polesia

The proud river Mietiułka.

#Polesia #wetlands

Copy of a tweet from 2020, with translation:

Karłowaty hipopotam poleski skrada się do niczego niespodziewającej się główki kapusty. #IdąPsięta

A Polesian dwarf hippo sneaking upon an unexpectingcabbage head.

Original tweet:

https://twitter.com/szescstopni/status/1243615027191517188

A spy exchange at night in falling snow on a bridge between East and West Germany, re-enacted by #IdąPsięta. They're still learning, expect more attention to detail in the future.

I just realized I posted this, over a year ago, with a typo in the hashtag, so here it goes again:

The Mother, The Son, and The Holy Squirrel.

#IdąPsięta

Still no leaves that would protest the poor little dog from the sun.

#IdąPsięta #DogsOfMastodon