Month: July 2019

Saturday (13-July-2019) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Daily Walkabout. The new butterfly for the day is a Horace’s Duskywing Butterfly (Erynnis horatius) feeding on a Coreopsis Flower. Many images, and a time-lapse video of the Goldfinch feeding on a Cornflower. There were two Tiger Swallowtail butterflies in one of the back wildflower meadows where the miniature Zinnia flowers are starting to bloom. A Clearwing Hummingbird moth stopped by to feed on Pink Cosmos flowers. It likes pink. Many images, and a time-lapse video of the Hummingbird moth.

Horace's Duskywing Butterfly (Erynnis horatius) feeding on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (David J Mathre)
Horace’s Duskywing Butterfly (Erynnis horatius) feeding on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (David J Mathre)


Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.


Daily Power Use (61.5 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (78.68 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More sun today, but did a load of laundry and ran the dishwasher. Still generated more power that I’m using.

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Friday (12-July-2019) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Daily Walkabout. American Goldfinch, Kermit the Bullfrog near the pond, Black Swallowtail Butterfly and Caterpillar. The Black Swallowtail caterpillars really like Dill plants on my Grow Tower. I harvested and froze the dill I wanted for the year so the Black Swallowtails can have the rest.

American Goldfinch. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
American Goldfinch. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Kermit the Bullfrog. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Kermit the Bullfrog. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)


Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.


Daily Power Use (54.8 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (74.17 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More sun today, so more than doubled the amount of power generated than yesterday. Even though it was warmer out the Geothermal HVAC was able to keep up, and still send some energy back into the grid.

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Thursday (11-July-2019) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Walkabout around the house to view the flowers and wildflower gardens. A Monarch butterfly, Bumblebees, and a Firefly in a Poppy Flower. Kermit the bullfrog in the pond and hiding in the grass, and an immature American Goldfinch eating the Bachelor Button (Cornflowers). The bird is blind in one eye. Then a variety of flowers.

Troll in the Garden. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Troll in the Garden. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)


Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.


Daily Power Use (48.4 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (35.0 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of clouds today, especially in the afternoon so I used more power than was generated.

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Wednesday (10-July-2019) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Walkabout around the house to view the flowers and wildflower gardens. New Poppy flowers are still showing up. More and more sunflowers are appearing. A new small butterfly showed up in one of the rear wildflower meadows. It appears to be a Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos) Butterfly. I am also starting to see more grasshoppers munching on my flowers.


Pink Poppy Flower. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens + 2.0 TC-E (DAVID J MATHRE)
Pink Poppy Flower. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens + 2.0 TC-E (DAVID J MATHRE)
Pink Poppy Flower. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens + 2.0 TC-E (DAVID J MATHRE)
Pink Poppy Flower. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens + 2.0 TC-E (DAVID J MATHRE)
Pink Poppy Flower. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens + 2.0 TC-E (DAVID J MATHRE)
Pink Poppy Flower. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens + 2.0 TC-E (DAVID J MATHRE)
Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos) Butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos) Butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos) Butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos) Butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Grasshopper Feeding on a Yellow Flower. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens + 2.0III TC-E (DAVID J MATHRE)
Grasshopper Feeding on a Yellow Flower. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens + 2.0III TC-E (DAVID J MATHRE)
Grasshopper Feeding on a Yellow Flower. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens + 2.0III TC-E (DAVID J MATHRE)
Grasshopper Feeding on a Yellow Flower. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens + 2.0III TC-E (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Power Use (62.0 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (76.7 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of sun today, so the solar panels generated more power that I used. Usage was up ~ 4 kWh since I did a load of laundry.

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Tuesday (09-July-2019) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

While it was still cool out in the morning, I mowed the yard. It had been over a week and I needed to catch up. I had my Nikon 1 V3 camera with the 70-300 mm lens with me “just in case”. Sure enough when I passed the back wildflower section I noticed a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. It found the dwarf Zinnia flowers that had just started blooming. This section was not seeded until several weeks after the sections next to the house where the wildflowers are now waist to shoulder high. After I finished mowing I came across a Painted Lady butterfly in the wildflowers near the house. Then to make my day, I saw a Monarch butterfly. I was cooking dinner and looked out the kitchen window and saw it fly by. Normally, I don’t see the Monarch butterflies until late August and September. So I ran out with the camera and got some pictures. I didn’t care that dinner burned while I was outside…

Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Zinnia Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Zinnia Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Zinnia Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Zinnia Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Zinnia Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Zinnia Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Cosmos Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Cosmos Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Painted Lady Butterfly on a Coneflower Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Painted Lady Butterfly on a Coneflower Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Painted Lady Butterfly on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Painted Lady Butterfly on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Painted Lady Butterfly on a Coneflower Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Painted Lady Butterfly on a Coneflower Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Monarch Butterfly on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Monarch Butterfly on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Monarch Butterfly on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Monarch Butterfly on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Monarch Butterfly on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Monarch Butterfly on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Monarch Butterfly on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Monarch Butterfly on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Monarch Butterfly on a Sunflower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Monarch Butterfly on a Sunflower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Power Use (58.9 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (79.1 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Much more sun today, so the solar panels generated more power that I used.

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