Month: June 2019

Wednesday (19-June-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

While reviewing images on the security cameras, I noticed two rabbits walking by the house early in the morning. I had seen a rabbit earlier in the year way back in the yard. With all of the rain we have been having the backyard grass is getting tall, and has lots of clover. Later in the afternoon, one of the rabbits was back nibbling on plants growing just outside the fenced in wildflower meadow. Now if I could just train it to eat the mile-a-minute vine (in the foreground)…

Wet Rabbit nibbling on plants. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 300 mm f/4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Wet Rabbit nibbling on plants. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 300 mm f/4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Power Use (44.7 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (13.5 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Power use is down since I powered down the backup server (will only run it when  running backups). I am also not generating much solar energy with all of the rain.

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Tuesday (18-June-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

It rained a lot today (1.71 in/43 mm). More wet Red Poppy pictures. This time some with real bees.

Red Poppy after the Rain. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Red Poppy after the Rain. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)


Red Poppy and a Bee after the Rain. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Red Poppy and a Bee after the Rain. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Red Poppy and a Bee after the Rain. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Red Poppy and a Bee after the Rain. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Power Use (54.5 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (23.13 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Power use is down since I adjusted the thermostat to 72°F.

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Monday (17-June-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

I continue to get new poppies blooming every day. The most are red, some are pink, and one was white. The flowers attract tiny hoverflies.

White Poppy. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
White Poppy. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)


White and Pink Poppy. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
White and Pink Poppy. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Power Use (54.0 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (38.75 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Power use is down since I adjusted the thermostat to 72°F.

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Sunday (16-June-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

It appears that hover flies really like all of the poppies currently in bloom. In a small white poppy (Icelandic Poppy?) observed a tiny Praying Mantis eating a tiny Hover Fly. Even though I didn’t have a macro lens on the camera, I was able to crop the image to make the tiny insects visible. I have never seen a Praying Mantis this early in the season. Normally, I only see them when they are much larger in late July and August.

Small White Poppy with Hover Flies and a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Small White Poppy with Hover Flies and a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Small White Poppy with Hover Flies and a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Small White Poppy with Hover Flies and a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Small White Poppy with Hover Flies and a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Small White Poppy with Hover Flies and a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Small White Poppy with Hover Flies and a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Small White Poppy with Hover Flies and a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Power Use (74.2 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (42.05 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Power use is up since I reduced the indoor temperature provided by the WaterFurnace Geothermal HVAC system. Will raise the indoor temperature to 72°F for tomorrow. The power was also out for a little over one hour in the morning. For safety/code reasons, if the PSE&G power is down, my solar panels are disconnected from the grid. I’m thinking of getting a couple of Tesla PowerWall batteries so this doesn’t happen in the future.

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Sunday (16-June-2019) — New Jersey

Indoor Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

I noticed a large spider guarding my 600 mm lens. Went a grabbed a camera with a macro lens. After the photo session was complete, I let him go outside hoping he would munch on some caterpillars eating my vegetables in the grow towers.

Spider Guarding my 600 mm Lens. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 1600, 80 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Spider Guarding my 600 mm Lens. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 1600, 80 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Spider Guarding my 600 mm Lens. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 1600, 80 mm, f/11, 1/125 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Spider Guarding my 600 mm Lens. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 1600, 80 mm, f/11, 1/125 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Power Use (74.2 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (42.05 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Power use is up since I reduced the indoor temperature provided by the WaterFurnace Geothermal HVAC system. Will raise the indoor temperature to 72°F for tomorrow. The power was also out for a little over one hour in the morning. For safety/code reasons, if the PSE&G power is down, my solar panels are disconnected from the grid. I’m thinking of getting a couple of Tesla PowerWall batteries so this doesn’t happen in the future.

Current Weather Conditions

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