Escape room at the New West sky train. Fun blend of writing systems. #linguistics

More coping with a Vancouver winter by looking at old Hawai'i photos that I never got around to editing. 27 Dec 2019. Driving across Maui at dusk when I spotted this golf course(?) surrounded by mountains, all bathed in the last rays. #travelphotography #landscape #landscapephotography

Fungus growing on a sawed log. Not sure of ID -- perhaps Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor)? Yesterday at Malcolm Knapp Research Forest, Maple Ridge, BC. #fungifriends #fungus 🌿

Jellied bird's nest fungus. The four things that look like eggs are peridioles that will get dispersed by rain drops splashing into the nest. Malcolm Knapp Research Forest, Maple Ridge, BC today. #fungifriends #fungus 🌿

Waimea Canyon State Park, Kaua'i, Hawai'i. The "Grand Canyon of the Pacific". Jan 2024. The weather and the light was constantly changing. #landscape #landscapephotography #canyon

It's a cold dreary day outside, so I'm taking a trip down memory lane, looking at pictures I never got around to editing from our trip to Kauai, Hawai'i in Jan 2024. A truck in the town of Hanapēpē, painted to blend with the surrounding foliage. #travelphotography #abandoned #truck

A patch of witches' butter fungus on a log. It was a dark day in the forest but the fungus looked like it was glowing. ~2cm across. Sasamat Lake to Diez Vista hike, BC, Canada. #fungifriends #fungus 🌿

My wife spotted a bat tucked into the roof of the veranda of the historic Tait & Co. Merchant House in the middle of the day. Anping Tree House site, Tainan, Taiwan. #mammals #bat 🌿 🦇

An Oriental magpie-robin mid-hop. Anping, Tainan, Taiwan. #birds 🌿 #birdphotography

A Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax). It was mindful of me only 2m away, but more focused on fishing. Anping, Tainan, Taiwan. #birds 🌿 #birdphotography

Another red-bellied tree squirrel (Pallas's squirrel). This time, in a tree and with a view of its red belly as it hangs out eating figs. Tainan Park, Tainan, Taiwan. #mammals 🌿 #squirrel

On a side street in Tainan, Taiwan I saw these chairs. I couldn't figure out why they were there. I guess you don't need a reason to sit and wait. #photography #art #liminalspace

A red-bellied tree squirrel (Pallas's squirrel) in Tainan Park, Tainan, Taiwan. #mammals 🌿 #squirrel

A domestic swan goose looking very dinosaur-y. Tainan Park, Tainan, Taiwan. #birds 🌿 #birdphotography

Taiwan common toads, this time sitting still and posing for the camera. Sister Ponds, Alishan National Forest, Taiwan. #herps 🌿 #amphibians

This toad decided it had places to be. We saw lots of tadpoles during the day, which I was not expecting in late Oct. I went back after dark and saw lots of what I think are Taiwan Common Toad (Bufo bankorensis). Sister Ponds in Alishan National Forest, Taiwan. #herps 🌿 #toad #amphibians

A macaque monkey looking very intently at something. Dakeng Scenic Reserve, Taichung, Taiwan. #mammals #monkey 🌿

One last bird from Alishan, Taiwan: a White-whiskered Laughingthrush. This bird appeared several times at the Datashan Lookout on the Tashan Trail. It seemed to come when it heard people opening their snacks. #birds 🌿 #birdphotography

A Taiwan Liocichla at dusk in the forest. Alishan National Forest, Taiwan. #birds 🌿

I love it when the sidewalk puts your eye level at the middle or top of a tall tree. You get to see things like this Taiwan Barwing as they search for food. Alishan National Forest, Taiwan. #birds 🌿

Two macaque monkeys in an enormous fig tree. Dakeng Scenic Area, Taichung, Taiwan #mammals 🌿 #monkey #wildlifephotography

A plumbeous water redstart at dusk. Alishan, Taiwan. #birds #birdphotography 🌿

At the #4 trail head I saw this young macaque monkey. It had a wound on one hind leg and was calling to a parent, who came to console it. Despite its injury, it was moving quickly through the bamboo and trees. Dakeng Scenic Area, Taichung, Taiwan #mammals 🌿 #naturephotography #wildlifephotography

At first I thought I was looking at blue splotches of acrylic paint but iNaturalist IDs this as Byssocorticium atrovirens, a type of fungus. #fungifriends #fungus 🌿

Currently reading "Gathering Moss" by Robin Wall Kimmerer. She explains how there's very little air movement in the thin layer where mosses live so they have to send their sporophytes a few milllimeters higher to catch the breeze. Buntzen Lake, BC. #moss #bryophyte #fungifriends 🌿

A side view of the ensatina that I posted yesterday. It looks mighty, moving across the forest floor. It's actually about 10cm long. Buntzen Lake, British Columbia, Canada. #herps #salamander 🌿

I found this ensatina 1km into my hike at Buntzen Lake, BC on Thu. Ensatinas are a kind of lungless salamander so they sit very still, not even breathing in and out. It makes them great photographic subjects. #herps #salamander 🌿

New to me and the only one I saw yesterday at Buntzen Lake, BC. My best guess at ID is Sharp-scaly Pholiota (Pholiota squarrosoides). Posted to iNaturalist. Can any experts help? #fungi #fungifriends 🌿

Peekaboo, little lizard, I see you. Although I admit you are well camouflaged. Dakeng Scenic Area, Taichung, Taiwan. #herps #lizard 🌿 🦎

I took five shots of these planters in ~1 min and only just realized that in one shot I got photo-bombed by two geckos! The gecko in the foreground moved across several shots but the one on the rightmost planter was only in this shot. Dakeng Scenic Area, Taichung, Taiwan. #herps #gecko 🌿 🦎

A citrus locust (Chondracris rosea), I think. Dakeng Scenic Area, Taichung, Taiwan. #insect #naturephotography 🌿

A moped repair shop. Taichung, Taiwan. #urban #travel #streetphotography

Lots of rain lately so the waterfalls were roaring. Crystal Falls at Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, BC yesterday. #naturephotography #landscape #waterfall

Dongmen Fude temple, Taichung. Dazzling after dark. #urban #travel

A couple resting in their store at the end of the day. Taichung, Taiwan. #streetphotography #urban

My first time hunting frogs after dark. At Taichung Metropolitan Park, Taiwan. Not sure about ID. Taiwan has so many species of amphibians! My best guess is East Asian Ornate Chorus Frog (Microhyla fissipes). #herps 🌿

Another first for me, although I know they're quite common: a mudskipper. Gaomei wetlands, Taichung, Taiwan. 🌿

A Malayan night heron looking remarkably dry given that there was torrential rain. Daan Forest Park, Taipei, Taiwan. #birds #naturephotography 🌿 #birdphotography

A young black bear to the side of the hiking trail at DeBoville Slough, Coquitlam, BC. The slough is next to cranberry and blueberry farms so you see a lot of bear scat and sometimes bears. The bear settled in for a nap while I took some photos (from a safe distance!). #mammals #naturephotography

A belted kingfisher at DeBoville Slough, Coquitlam, BC today. In the background are cranberry and blueberry bushes in their autumn colours. #birds #birdphotography 🌿

The first project I worked on in Computational Linguistics was anaphora resolution #linguistics #anaphora

One very soggy Malaysian Night Heron. We had torrential rain the entire time we were in Taipei (Oct 2025). Daan Forest Park, Taipei, Taiwan. #birds #naturephotography 🌿 #birdphotography

Me (from New Zealand) in Taiwan: ooh a pūkeko (𝑃𝑜𝑟𝑝ℎ𝑦𝑟𝑖𝑜 𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑢𝑠, Australasian swamphen)! But actually I'm pretty sure it's a Common Gallinule. Daan Forest Park, Taipei, Taiwan. Completely unphased by the torrential rain that week. #birds #naturephotography

Starting to work thru the photos from my recent Taiwan trip. One very spiky caterpillar on the hiking trail at Dakeng Scenic Area near Taichung, Taiwan. #macrophotography #naturephotography 🌿

Another view of the ensatina that crawled under my camera bag a few days ago. It was ~10cm (4") long. Clearly the lesson from that day is to wait for the #herps to come to you. Handheld focus stack of 40 images. Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, BC. #salamander 🌿 #naturephotography

A slug eating a mushroom. If you zoom in around the head you can see some tiny bugs hitching a ride on the slug. Belcarra, British Columbia. #FungiFriends #fungifriday #fungi 🍄 🌿

A little mushroom pushing up thru the twigs on the forest floor. Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, British Columbia. #FungiFriends #fungifriday #fungi 🍄 🌿

I picked up my camera bag after taking some photos of mushrooms and discovered that an ensatina (a kind of lungless salamander) had crawled under the bag! It's the opposite of "the one that got away". Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, BC. #herps #salamander 🌿 #naturephotography

So many vibrant mushrooms at Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, BC. Canon R5+RF100. 1/4, f5.6, ISO400. Stack of 57 images. #mushroom #fungifriends #mushrooms 🍄 🌿

One thing I am learning as I look more closely at mushrooms is that things can be messy and there can be a lot of bugs on and around them. This mushroom was bursting out of a dirt bank. There's a mosquito hiding under the cap. Woodhaven Swamp, Belcarra, BC. #fungifriends 🍄 🌿 #fungi