iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Transferred 9+ years of photos off my phone. These pics capture the beauty of Aotearoa New Zealand & my passion for our natural history 🌱💚

A montage of 25 photos, each showing a hand holding either flowers, lots of red berries, leaves, a green pūriri moth, enormous dragonfly, blue birds egg, shells. It captures some of the beauty of Aotearoa New Zealand

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Watched the karakia & farewelled our beloved popoiangore leopard seal visitor. Wrote about finding her: www.facebook.com/share/p/1DKM...

A group of people wearing protective clothing saying karakia (prayers) around the deceased leopard seal

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

@fromthemorgue.bsky.social She didn’t make it 😞 DOC knows & will conduct a postmortem

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

The Wellkiwis Influenza A results this week are scary. Doesn’t have my kid in there yet who tested positive on Thursday & even with vaccination she’s pretty unwell. Mask up people #nz #wellkiwis #flu

A graph that shows a huge spike in Influenza A cases in our Wellkiwis flu study

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Visited my second cousin today who is going to be 102 in a couple of weeks. She told me how she used to pick apricots off her uncle’s tree in Aro Street as a child & then we had a conversation about how she’s older than Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore.

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Really sad to read @krystlef’s death notice in today’s paper. She was such a beacon of light and fun here, and in the days of old twitter. Sending aroha to her whānau & friends

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Bishop’s memoir is going to be wild #nzpol

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Congratulations Elizabeth - such a stunning pukapuka!

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Given the amount of public speaking he must do, I expected Paul Goldsmith to be a much better speaker. That was just atrocious.

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

@theobrominated.bsky.social Woohoo, first book award! Congrats - cheering from Pōneke!! Loving the launch of your new career 😆

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Reposted by Catherine

Kay in the End Times 🏳️‍🌈 💗💜💙📚 @jennykaynz.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

#NZvoters please remember the vulnerability of our ecosystems when you cast your votes on 7 November 2026! Wetlands are not only homes to endangered species, they're also flood protection. Wetlands protect neighbouring areas from rain and flood overflows. 🌊🌱🌿🦗🐸 #NZpol

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Paula Green @paulajoygreen.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Calling all children in Aotearoa who love writing poems - Poetry Box launches with a Giselle Clarkson review and bird poem challenge - I will write back. I will give away books nzpoetrybox.wordpress.com/2026/04/23/p...

nzpoetrybox.wordpress.com

Poetry Box Giselle Clarkson review and poem challenge: Birds

what do you see? Poetry Box is back online for 2026 I missed you all! I missed reading poems by and for children and celebrating children’s books in Aoteroa New Zealand. This year I aim to po…

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

Buy a ticket to our talk ‘𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘀’ at Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival & go in the draw to 𝐖𝐈𝐍 a signed book + a tote bag! www.eventfinda.co.nz/2026/groundw...

Photos of the book ‘Groundwork: The art and writing of Emily Cumming Harris’ and its authors Michele and Catherine; and photos of a tote bag featuring botanical images of pink puriri berries and blue dianella berries by Emily Harris

Text that reads: Buy a ticket to 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘀 and go in the draw to 𝐖𝐈𝐍 a signed copy of the book plus a tote bag! Groundwork is a luscious tribute to Emily Cumming Harris, one of New Zealand's most significant botanical artists. Join authors 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗴𝗼𝘁𝘁 and 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱-𝗗𝗼𝗱𝗴𝘀𝗼𝗻 (Rongowhakaata, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Te Aitanga a Māhaki) as they discuss their remarkable collaboration while bringing Emily's work and enduring legacy to life right before your eyes. Book your ticket now and be in to win this special prize.

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

My UK passport application has finally been approved. Only taken 3 months & NZD$520. I’ll believe it when it’s in actually in my hand…

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Just finished watching Mackenzie Crook’s tv show ‘Small Prophets’. So gorgeous. Think I like it even more than ‘The Detectorists’, if that is possible. Killer soundtrack too

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

The details and artwork in Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui are incredible. Such a warm, light-filled & welcoming space. So happy the library is open again! #wellington #library

The end of a bookshelf, which has been decorated with colourful butterflies

A green pūriri moth, part of a wall decoration

The children’s space in the library. There is a large floor cushion and the wall is decorated with a fungi design

Artwork by Darcy Nicholas: four bright, glowing panels of yellow and pink depicting wāhine, with blue sky and clouds above them

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

Needed a brain break, so today we went to find Raupeka / Earina autumnalis / Easter orchids in the hills above Wainuiomata. We could smell the orchids before we could see them - there was an incredible cloud of perfume all around us, similar to vanilla.

A hand holding a stem of tiny white orchid flowers, which almost look like stars

A woman holding a stem of orchids up to her face. She is smiling because she is enjoying the fragrance

A bank covered in white-flowering orchids

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Thanks for your kind words @clairemabey.bsky.social! Such beautiful books in the Longlist, so chuffed to be in such excellent company 📚

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

@theobrominated.bsky.social Congrats on the long list - nice to see we’re in good company! 🌱🌸🌿

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Whakaoriori Masterton gives good sunset after a day of extraordinary rain.

Three people standing on long golden grass looking up at pink clouds in the sky, set against dark rainclouds in the distance

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Metrosideros excelsa ‘Aurea’. Trees are still flowering in Normandale, Lower Hutt 💛

Close up photo of yellow pōhutukawa flowers

A yellow-flowering pōhutukawa tree reaching out over the edge of a road

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

For those (rightly) upset at FluTacking not continuing, consider joining WellKiwis: www.wellkiwis.co.nz Since 2017 it has helped me understand what viruses are around - esp helpful when my partner was going through chemo

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Reposted by Catherine

Andy McKay @korimakoecology.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

Wellington Natural Heritage Trust needs your help to secure one of Wellington City's last remaining tracts of old-growth native forest. The 71 hectare property is in South Mākara. Kiwi have moved in already. It will flourish with effective pest control! givealittle.co.nz/org/wellingt...

givealittle.co.nz

Wellington Natural Heritage Trust

We need your help to secure one of Wellington City's last remaining tracts of old-growth native forest. It's an absolute gem!

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

This morning I went on a rātā-viewing walk run by the Wellington Botanical Society & the tree outside St Paul’s Church on Waiwhetu Road is *incredible*! Well worth a visit if you’re obsessed with Metrosideros robusta

A huge Northern rātā tree in full bloom, with clusters of bright red flowers

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

Are you searching for a great Christmas present for the #Aotearoa art lover or natural history enthusiast in your life? Our pukapuka explores #colonialhistory, #women’shistory, #botanicalart, #comets, #NZpoetry & #eclipses

An image comprising three photographs, each of a hand holding the book ‘Groundwork: The art and writing of Emily Cumming Harris’ set against different coloured metrosideros flowers: bright red rātā, pink pōhutukawa and yellow pōhutukawa

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

Tonight we’re giving an author talk at Unity Books Wellington at 6pm! Our presentation features our favourite research moments, artwork by Emily Cumming Harris & we're bringing our collection of rare hand-coloured books from the 1890s to display. www.facebook.com/share/1FN2pX...

Book cover of ‘Groundwork: The art and writing of Emily Cumming Harris’ and text advertising a free author talk at Unity Books, Wellington, 6pm, Wednesday 26 November

11 lithograph books from 1890 laid on a table. Some of the botanical plates have been hand-coloured by Emily Harris using watercolour paints

A delicate sketch of a brown butterfly perched on a stem of forget-me-not-flowers, with handwritten text above & below it. This card is dated 1826 and is pasted in a Georgian and Victorian scrapbook that belonged to Emily Cumming Harris’s aunt, who lived in England.

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

My sister has long covid & had to give up her job a few years ago. She’s started making & selling sweet little peg angels & prints: felt.co.nz/shop/mrs-mac ❤️ #christmasnz #secretsanta #handmade #aotearoachristmas

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

The yellow pōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa ‘Aurea’) behind Chaffers New World in Wellington is in full bloom. Covered in bees this morning 💛

A yellow flowering pōhutukawa tree in bloom with the fire station building behind it

Close up of the fuzzy yellow flowers in bloom on a pōhutukawa tree

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Grew a rainbow of aquilegia 🌈

A hand holding a bunch of aquilegia flowers that range in colour from pink, red, yellow, pale yellow, lilac and dark purple

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

New Plymouth people - Michele & I are giving a talk about some of our book research highlights. 6pm, Wed 5 Nov, Taranaki Research Centre. Come say hi! #taranaki #botanicalart #newplymouth

The book ‘Groundwork: The art and writing of Emily Cumming Harris’ held up in front of Taranaki Mounga, which has white snow on its peak

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

Was excited to come across these elegant pressed fern specimens in a file I looked through today, c.late 1800s/early 1900s. But I miss the time when I could order a file from NZ Archives & view it 45 mins later. Takes 3 days now.

An arrangement of different-coloured dried ferns on a page, spread out like the rays of a sun

An arrangement of different-coloured dried ferns on a page, spread out in different directions, with the tallest specimen in the middle pointing upwards

A striking arrangement of different-coloured dried ferns on a page. They are centred around a middy-type specimen in the centre

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

Such a stunning pukapuka! Am at the launch at Unity Books for ‘He Puāwai’ by @theobrominated.bsky.social 🌸🌼🪻Perfect Christmas present

3 copies of the book ‘He Puāwai’ with beautiful coloured flowers on the front cover

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

The Zinefest at the School of Architecture on Vivian Street in Pōneke is super cool. We had a blast buying zines, stickers & having little portraits drawn. Love the creativity ❤️ #wellingtonzinefest

Stallholders sitting behind stalls full of colourful zines, stickers and original artworks. There are lots of people looking at the stalls.

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🦝 Pepper Raccoon: Trash Priestess 🦝 @pepperraccoon.com · 17/09/2025

Hey Hutt folks, you may miss it when voting, but please don’t vote for Suzanne Levy! She sounds fine, but OOPS she runs the TERF organisation Speak Up For Women.

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

I’m always doing something weird when @fromthemorgue.bsky.social is out walking his adorable dogs. Today I was removing ivy that’s smothering trees down by the awa. Little point doing predator removal if we’re not also restoring habitat #predatorfreenz

Two photos side-by-side. On the left is a tree trunk smothered in ivy and on the right the ivy has been removed from the tree

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Susannah Lyon-Whaley @susannah-lw.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

If flowers are your thing - @zarakesterton.bsky.social, Tori Champion and I run a growing network on Women and Flowers. This month Michele Leggott and @deleifd.bsky.social are speaking about their beautiful book Groundwork. Details below or email womenandflowersnetwork@gmail.com to join us!🌷

Book cover for Groundwork: The Art and Writing of Emily Cumming Harris

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 29/06/2025

Wish I could post videos here. Saw this cute baby seal swimming on the waterfront. It saw me, and then hopped on to a rock and clambered up towards me. I moved very quickly.

A baby seal with beautiful big eyes on the edge of the waterfront

A baby seal sitting on the waterfront. It is wet as it has just jumped out of the water.

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

Public thank you to @chaneyz85.bsky.social for being awesome at her job and helping us make a big research discovery! #findingmissingbooks #emilycummingharris

A hand-coloured plate from Thomas Kirk’s book ‘The Forest Flora of New Zealand’. It shows a plant coastal maire plant specimen with very large green leaves that has been coloured using watercolour. There is a note to the right in Emily Cumming Harris’s handwriting that says “Owing to the paper being thin and highly glazed, the leaves which cover a large surface will not take the paint well, and consequently have a striped and unfinished appearance.”

A hand-coloured lithograph of a titoki plant specimen, that has been coloured using watercolour. The leaves are green, the outer part of the berries are brown and the betties themselves are bright red with black seeds in the middle.

A hand-coloured lithograph that shows a specimen of kōwhai, with its leaves, seed pod and flowers. The flowers are a brilliant yellow.

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

Sent an email today using ‘mōrena’ & ‘ngā mihi’. Received this reply: “Please note I am not Maori, so your greeting is not appreciated. What’s wrong with Hello or Hi etc, and regards etc. I think this PC token use of Maori is unwarranted.” 🫠 (He knows I whakapapa Māori too)

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

In need of tōhu & good news stories, so was pleased to see 7 kōtuku ngutupapa / royal spoonbills along the awa this morning. Usually only see 2 or 3 #teawakairangi #predatorfreenz

Seven white birds on long thin legs standing on a rocky river bed, with their heads tucked under their wings

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

First time finding Devil’s Fingers fungus / Clathrus archeri / octopus stinkhorn, thanks to a hot tip from a friend ahead of all the heavy rain. Tiny, alien-looking & very smelly

A red fungus with five outstretched ‘arms’, resembling a starfish, with a hole in the centre. This specimen is smaller than the palm of my hand.

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

Found some very cool specimens of Tūtae kēhua / basket fungus / Ileodictyon cibarium while checking our Predator Free trapline along the awa this morning #predatorfree #teawakairangi

Two white basket fungi growing next to each other. They are shaped like a mesh ball with a lattice pattern.

A large basket fungus specimen growing out of the ground. It is white and has a lattice-like shape.

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

Happy Worldwide Day of Botanical Art! Today I’m celebrating Aotearoa / New Zealand artist Emily Cumming Harris (1837-1925) and her beautiful paintings #botanicalart #botany #newzealand #woman #artist

An 1870s photo of Emily Cumming Harris, showing her with hair tied up & wearing a black dress with white collar. The image also contains two watercolour paintings by her from c.1879: Chatham Island forget-me-nots with large green leaves and delicate blue flowers, edged with brown ferns and there is a little copper butterfly on the left-hand side. The second painting depicts an autumnal scene of a branch of golden-orange taupata berries, white akeake seed pods reaching up next to the branch and a delicate blue background painted in watercolour

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

Not often the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul is totally packed. Tonight’s Supertonic performance of Mozart’s Requiem was sublime - beautiful orchestration & choral singing 💜 #supertonic

A cathedral full of people and the interior lit with pink and purple lights

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

How did we write a book about art when one of us is blind? Michele & I discuss ‘blind seeing & beyond’ in our Spinoff article: thespinoff.co.nz/books/03-05-... Thanks @clairemabey.bsky.social 🌱

Screenshot of the Spinoff website showing our book cover, with orange taupata berries and white akeake seed capsules, and the headline ‘Blind seeing and beyond: how we approached Groundwork’

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Today I returned this incredible little Georgian-period scrapbook to the Harris family, who kindly loaned it to us. It contains original watercolour sketches, poems, engravings & seaweed specimens, some dating to the 1820s. We used several of its pages in chapter 3 of Groundwork 🌱

On the page of the little scrapbook is a little watercolour butterfly with yellow and pink wings edged in green and a convolvulus plant with blue and white-striped flowers. A green beetle has been cut out of paper and glued on to the page, just above the flower.

Two pink seaweed specimens attached to white pieces of paper, which have then been glued onto a blue page of the scrapbook. The seaweeds have feathery fronds and have been carefully fanned out.

A page that has been pasted into the scrapbook, showing blue morpho and birdwing butterflies. The blue morpho’s wings are almost shimmery in the light. Written underneath is a faint pencil inscription that reads: ‘Butterflies painted from collection in Wellington Museum’.

A white card with an embossed edge that has been glued to the scrapbook page. Painted in the flat space in the middle is a large yellow and blue butterfly, with black and red colours on the edges of the wings.

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

Very exciting to see copies of our book ‘Groundwork: The art and writing of Emily Cumming Harris’ out in the wild! Please send me photos if you spot it 🌱

Copies of the book Groundwork: The art and writing of Emily Cumming Harris stacked on a table. It has a beautiful botanical-themed cover, with orange taupata berries and white akeake seed capsules.

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Catherine @deleifd.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

Took a break from the emails today and went in search of my favourite fungi in Wainuiomata: Werewere-kōkako / Entoloma hochstetteri. So beautiful 💙

A tiny blue mushroom pokes up through some mossy ground. The mushrooms’s bright blue colour offers a beautiful contrast to the green plants that surround it.

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