I think the Duckbill Platter Puss lay eggs also if I remember right.

Hope I spelled that right. LOL

Wiggo you should know that one.

Plenty of them 'roo's around these parts. ;-)
Cheers.

Plenty of them?
I know only one Roo.

I think the Duckbill Platter Puss lay eggs also if I remember right.

Hope I spelled that right. LOL

Wiggo you should know that one.

Echidnas are the same Grant, the only 2 marsupials to do that.

Plenty of both of them around here too.

Cheers.

Is an Echidna the same thing as a spiny anteater?

My mom taught Me, and I have a merit badge in cooking too, those aren't just handed out, one has to earn that.

Awesome! I think that all young people should learn some basic cooking skills.

Vic, what did you have to master in order to earn your merit badge?

I guess I don't know everything by a lot. LOL

Is an Echidna the same thing as a spiny anteater?

Yes Angelia, and it's best to let them go where they want to (much to Dog's pain and the holes in my yard). ;-)

Cheers.

Wiggo, I had the pleasure of visiting your lovely country once. It was an amazing trip! I didn't see any echidnas though.

I see them far too often out here in the bush.

Cheers.

Cooking My breakfast over a brick stove outdoors at 6000' in altitude.

Wow! High altitude cooking is tricky stuff. Boiling water isn't the same temperature up there and anything baked in an oven needs some adjustments.

Years ago I made a friend's wedding cake in a cabin at Lake Tahoe (also around 6000 ft. of altitude). The cakes all came out fine, but thank goodness for whipped cream frosting! It hides lots of imperfections, and it tastes good too. What you can't hide with frosting, you can always hide with some strategically placed wrapped bundles of spray-free flowers.

I've made 5 wedding cakes in my life - a practice cake which I fed to my family, a cake for my friend Annemarie and her husband Rob, a cake for my friend Louis and his wife Colleen, a cake for my friend Linde and her husband Bob and a cake for my friend Maryellen and her husband Mario. All four couples are still happily married and they all have beautiful children. (I'm sure all that is because of the cakes...)

Vic, did your merit badge requirements include any regular cooking, or were the requirements only for camp-cooking?

It must be like putting your hands on a barrel cactus in the dark? LOL
I did once in New Mexico, picked prickers out for days.

Cooking My breakfast over a brick stove outdoors at 6000' in altitude. Similar to this one, and yes I was the one who got the fire going. I was 12yrs old too, later I aced a First Aid badge, in 1 hour.

Ah. The Grill.
Yes. I like outdoor cooked meals as well.
But in the morning first starting a fire for making a breakfast...
In this time of year when the snow/rain is falling...
And it's dark outside...

Vic, you got me curious about current merit badge requirements, so I googled the cooking badge.

Looks like many things have changed since you were 12, and for the better I would say. A merit badge in cooking now requires more than just cooking on a camping trip. There are requirements for food safety knowledge and there is an emphasis placed on health and nutrition, which is certainly important!

I'm pretty impressed with what scouts have to accomplish these days to get this badge.

Scouting merit badge in cooking

Today the unfair swimming requirement is gone, sure it's a good idea to know how to do that, but not everyone has access to swimming classes.
Swimming is a big survival skill.

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One of my cousins is an Eagle Scout. He was required to do a community service project. He organized work parties to clear an over-grown trail in the Sierra foothills. He and his team worked many days on this project.

The son of a family friend also was required to do a community service project to become an Eagle Scout. He organized the construction of special playground equipment in a park. The equipment was intended to be used by all children, but it was designed to be especially inclusive for children with special physical needs. The Eagle Scout raised funds to pay a contractor to make sure the structures built were safe, but the Eagle Scout did all the planning and project management himself, and he and a team of helpers did much of the construction work.

It is not easy to become an Eagle Scout these days and I am so impressed with both of these young men and the service they have provided to their communities.

I don't know if there is a girl scout equivalent of Eagle Scout, but I sure hope there is!

I was 9 years old and didn't swim yet but when I almost drowned I made it a must before the summer was over. I did it, the next year I save a girl from drowning.

Years later I met her husband and he said, "at this time I don't know if I should thank you or punch you in the mouth". LOL (true story)

First time when I as a kid was about to learn swimming we had to do it in the Atlantic Ocean.
No warm pools here at that time.
And even in the summer it's almost always freezing cold (not more than about 14C brrr) in the water in the Nordic Countries.
Not only that.
We have plenty of Lion's mane jellyfish as well!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion%27s_mane_jellyfish#Sting_and_human_contact
Needless to say but I didn't learnt to swim until I was 12 I think:)

"Be Prepared" Scouting are some of my fondness memories. Cub Scout, Life Boy Scout just short of Eagle transitioned to Explore Scouts and then Sea Scouts.

Forgot to add Order of the Arrow too.

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...

Hehe:)
I have also been a Wolf Cub member when I was 9 or 10 years old.
The leader of the pack was called Akela. That I remember and that we got badges for doing things I don't remember.
Wolf Cubs still use "The Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling who was a friend to Baden-Powell as a basis.

I was a boy scout for about a week does that count. LOL

girl scout camp was more fun anyway. LOL