I don’t usually do a year-end post; however, this past year does feel exceptional, so here goes.

I know, it’s already Jan 5 and I’m a little late to the party for a year-ender, but that’s probably reflective of my current age and stage; just a little bit slower than I used to be. And while for the same reason, age and stage, I try to see each new experience as a gift, this year did test that optimistic approach to life.

On a personal level, the year was bracketed by two slightly ‘off’ wildlife trips, described in earlier posts, one to Ladakh for snow leopards in February and one to a couple of South American countries, Brazil in particular, for jaguars in November. The gap in between was filled with all the ups and downs we were all trying to come to terms with in 2025.

On a global level, we are all well aware of 2025’s gifts to global trade, global security and our own national independence, so I won’t belabour those points. Suffice it to say, 2025, happy to see the back of you. 2026, I wish I could say that I have high hopes for you, but absent high hopes, I’m strapping on my ‘every day is a gift’ persona and keeping my head down.

Plans for 2026…for the first time in a very long time, we have nothing planned and strange to say, we don’t feel any urgency to hit the road again. 2025 was draining, and my last trip took my battery level down to new lows. However, sitting in front of a bright fire watching the snow fall feels pretty energizing at the moment; and travel lust is never far away, I’m sure it won’t be long in reasserting itself.

The above picture notwithstanding, one additional factor bringing joy to our lives and to our current static existence is the athletic and energetic presence of two new cats, Rufous and Earl Grey, aka Mouse, Burmese cats both. Some of you may remember from a much earlier post that my alpha and omega cat, Harry, died almost exactly two years ago, and his and our companion cat Toby, followed him almost exactly a year later. We were hit pretty hard on both occasions, and Toby’s demise was not a felicitous launch to 2025.

At the time, we did not expect that we would ever want to replace them, not that one could; however, it rapidly became apparent that a life without cats is truly not a life well-lived. So in the spring of 2025, the kittens Rufous and Mouse joined us. Since then, our house has been busy and active once again, one more reason for us to park our passports and suitcases for a while.

Mouse, an indoor cat, can only hunt on line

On an altogether other note, you may notice that the format of this post seems different from that of the last couple of years; I have now moved my journal to Substack. Substack is a platform that makes producing and distributing my journal posts much easier than was the case on my website. I’m maintaining my site geraldfitzgerald.com and I will continue to put my posts up on the site, but I will be distributing them, and you will be receiving them via the Substack platform.

Thank you all for sticking with me while I do my best to document my travel and photography adventures. Best wishes to you and to all of us for 2026!

Far horizons will call, I know; simply writing this post has stirred the embers, and I’m finding myself reaching for a map…

More to come!

2025: A Year in Review - January 5, 2026

Argentina to Brazil, Reflections - November 23, 2025