Month: July 2019

Monday (08-July-2019) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

It rained most of the morning. Later in the afternoon, I did see a Clearwing Hummingbird Moth (Hemaris thysbe) in my Wildflower Meadow. Right now it is attracted to the Pink Cosmos and Zinnia flowers. I am trying different camera/lens combinations to get the best images of the Hummingbird Moth. Today I used a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (exclusively at 400 mm).


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.




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 (45.5 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (37.9 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. It rained all morning, and the sun didn’t come out until midday so the power generation was low. The temperatures stayed low, so the geothermal HVAC system didn’t need to work as hard to keep the indoor cool. But, I still used 8.6 kWh more power than produced by the solar panels.

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Sunday (07-July-2019) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Butterflies, Bees, and Clearwing Hummingbird Moths. Today, the Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly was missing its tails and some of its rear wing. The Black Swallowtail Butterfly (NJ State Butterfly) was also missing one of its tails. I also saw a Red Admiral and Painted Lady Butterfly. One of the Clearwing Hummingbird Moths showed up. It spent most of its time feeding on the Pink Cosmos and Pink Zinnia flowers


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.



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.



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 (59.1 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (64.15 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. The sun was out long enough to generate more power than the geothermal HVAC system needed to keep the house cool.

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Saturday (06-July-2019) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds, Bees, Butterflies, and Kermit the Frog. Today’s images were taken during my walkabouts with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens. Flower and wildflower images will be in a different post. The first Tiger Swallowtail butterfly had lost its tails. The Swallowtails are pretty skittish — not staying in one place for very long, making capturing photos a challenge. Latter on I came upon what I think is a Variegated Fritillary Butterfly (Euptoieta claudia). It was more cooperative staying still for a bit. I am seeing several different types of bees — honey bees, bumble bees, sweat bees, tiny green bees on the different flowers currently in bloom. The interesting one today was a large black bee, about the size of a Bumble Bee but without any hair like a Bumble Bee. This bee had been working Coreopsis (Tickseed) flowers with yellow pollen since its bottom was bright yellow. Back at the pond, it appears that Kermit caught a dragonfly.

Male Cardinal at the Birdfeeder. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Male Cardinal at the Birdfeeder. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (DAVID J MATHRE)


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Daily Power Use (58.9 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (50.17 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. It was cloudy out much of the day, so I generated less power than the geothermal HVAC system needed to keep the house cool.

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Friday (05-July-2019) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Something other than just flowers and wildflowers today. I saw my first Clearwing Hummingbird Moth this year feeding on some small blue Forget-me-not flowers. One of my photography mentors once told me that the best image is behind you — so when I turned around I saw my first Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly this year feeding on an orange Zinnia flower. I may not have had the best camera or lens for these subjects, but as someone else said “the best camera is the one in your hand”. I’d been waiting for both the Clearwing Hummingbird Moth and the Swallowtail Butterflies since planting the wildflower meadows earlier this spring. Later in the evening, while sitting on the back patio I saw a real hummingbird and caught a couple of pictures before it flew off. I will be watching for all three the rest of the summer, and will also be on the lookout for the Monarch Butterflies.

Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Zinnia. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Zinnia. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Zinnia. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Zinnia. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Zinnia. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Zinnia. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Zinnia. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Zinnia. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Hummingbird. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Hummingbird. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Hummingbird. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Hummingbird. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Power Use (56.5 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (50.14 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. It was cloudy out much of the day, so I generated less power than the geothermal HVAC system needed to keep the house cool.

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Thursday (04-July-2019) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

For the Fourth of July, I did my walkabout with a Nikon D850 camera and a different macro lens. This time an older Nikon 105 mm f/2.8 VR lens (some of the time with a TC-E III 2x teleconverter). During the night a racoon knocked down a sunflower plant while trying to climb up the birdfeeder. I was specifically looking for insects that are attracted to the flowers and wildflowers. The larger bumblebees like the Cosmos flowers. The Poppies attract honey bees and hoverflies. The hoverflies also like the Chicory. Lots of Poppy images. The other flowers and wildflowers include: Red allium, Black-eyed Susan, Blue Flax, Chicory, Coreopsis, Cornflower, Cosmos, Godetia, Larkspur, Leopard’s bane, Love-in-a-mist, Phlox, Siberian Wallflower, Sunflower, and Zinnia. While out stalking the flowers and insects, I also got images of a young fawn just outside the electric fence and a neighborhood cat.


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



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Neighborhood Cat -- was hunting songbirds under the birdfeeder until I came out with the camera. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Neighborhood Cat — was hunting songbirds under the birdfeeder until I came out with the camera. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Power Use (56.5 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (81.8 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. The sun was out most of the day, so I generated more power than the geothermal HVAC system needed to keep the house cool.

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