I’m writing this on January 14th, and I have a set from Te Papa on January 14, 2024, so just barely less than 2 years of backlog. There is also a large set in February but then I have some breathing room till May. What happens is that I’m teaching in Winter terms, so I don’t take many pictures, but I also don’t process many pictures.

One side benefit of teaching, though, is that I was forced to learn about the Piwigo API, and so I went ahead and wrote a script to automate the creation of links on these pages. Which saves a lot of time creating these pages, actually, and is just a better workflow.

Picture logs available, and, as always, pictures are clickable to go to the full gallery (with the help of my new script!)

Sets of pictures processed: December=27, November=27, October=39
Total pictures selected: December=919, November=1043, October=1330
Total pictures in selection pool: December=3092, November=3592, October=3883
Accept rate: 30% (min 14%, max 62%)
Pictures posted on this page: 179

Teenage gull wants food; Rainier view; Seattle from the ferry at night; bed in Lyell Saddle Hut; Old Ghost Road clouds on hills; falls; Kakaruai/South Island Robin near Aspiring Hut; sunset from the air; riroriro/grey warbler; SM-66 at Wellington Closed 2026; black mountain ringlet near Angelus; me at Lake Angelus; MP at Lake Angelus; Angelus Peak; last GPS coords from phone; phone found; Speargrass Valley; pōhutukawa in Wellington.

Birds, other animals, and plants. (There are both sheep and vegetable sheep). The paradise shelducklings were getting quite big. In the highlights above, I finally photographed a grey warbler. Not a great shot, but they are hard to see, even though they are so easy to hear. Definitely fewer exotic birds than last month.

Vancouver: Juvenile gull of some sort; cormorants; american crow at Canada Place. Aotearoa: weka; kakaruai/South Island robin; yellowhammer; paradise shelduck ×3; other ducklings ×2; hopping song thrush with worm; camouflaged NZ pipit; decorated starling; tūī.

Not birds:

Rough-skinned newt; sheep; carpet moth; two alpacas (plus one in shade); water spider; mating grasshoppers; dog (and its human).

Flora:

Snow lichen; pandani; hedgehog mushroom; wolf's milk; lichen (genus menegazzia); rhododendron with bee; yellow admiral; manuka; rose; vegetable sheep; buttercup (Ranunculus Verticillatus); red coprosma berry; more vegetable sheep; dog vomit slime mold.

Up next, from last month, we have a combination of sets from trips (Angelus, Old Ghost Road, and travel to Nelson, BC/Seattle) and general collections of pictures.

Angelus Hut / Peak (December 2025)

That was an adventure!

Before the hike:

Landing in Blenheim; Pic's Peanut Butter Factory; Dr Livingstone Wall at Pohara; Port Tarahoke; stars above Pohara; this is a Project Jonah drill! marine mammal stranding; make a circle; Wakefield sunrise.

To Angelus Hut and the summit, first time:

Ascending above Lake Rotoiti; layers and clouds; walking across the scree; pole and Robert Ridge; Lake Angelus; some chiaroscuro; tarns and peaks; alpine grasshopper; Hinapouri tarns; track to Angelus and Sunset Saddle; Lake Angelus with hut; snow at Angelus Peak summit; Angelus Hut at dusk.

Two more trips up Angelus, and back to Blenheim and Wellington:

Sunrise-ish near Angelus; summit register; plam on summit (again); out-of-focus wet-camera shot; scree slope down (the long way around); Cascade Track pool and bridge; try 3: definitely before dawn; cairn in the clouds; no views on descent; back at Angelus Hut; MP going into the valley; mossy logs; Cessna Caravan instruments; Clifford Bay on the South Island.

Montreal-(Toronto)-Nelson and Seattle (December 2023)

This was the last bit of 2023 to process: WFR in Seattle, Christmas in Montreal, avalanche course in Nelson. Actually from Seattle it was a hike up Tiger Mountain the day before the WFR.