Wednesday (28-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

When I woke up, I noticed a number of deer in the back. One doe with a bad case of mange was down. As soon as it saw me, it got up and one of the fawns joined it.


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


Daily Electric Energy Used (45.9 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (40.9 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Still cool outside but more clouds for a net deficit of 5 kWh.

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Seven-Years Ago (28-August-2012) — North Atlantic Ocean

Gone to see Europe. Semester at Sea. Fall 2012 Semester Voyage on the MV Explorer. Day 06: At Sea, North Atlantic Ocean.

It was another rough night with heavy seas. I got a picture of the waves outside my cabin portal. By dawn all of the water in the pool had sloshed out and the deck chairs were all tied down. During the day the wind reduced and the seas had calmed. By early evening the happy students escaping from cabin fever were out on deck for sunset. While shooting sunset, I looked behind and saw some students on the upper deck with the waxing Gibbous Moon in the sky next to them.  I would watch out for this type of moon shot on subsequent Semester at Sea voyages. I am waiting for a camera and telephoto lens combination where both the people and moon are in focus (infinite depth of field, and infinite ISO, with no noise).

Rough Seas at Night from my Cabin Portal. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 25600, 16 mm, f/3.2, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)
Rough Seas at Night from my Cabin Portal. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 25600, 16 mm, f/3.2, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)


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



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



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


Eight-Years Ago (28-August-2011) — New Jersey

Hurricane Irene. Central New Jersey.

My Sunday afternoon post from eight-years ago. Today we are watching as Hurricane Dorian tracks toward central Florida.

By mid-afternoon, I still was not able to report the downed power lines in my yard. I drove to the nearby High School where there I could get much better ATT wireless Internet reception. I logged onto the PSE&G site and reported that I didn’t have power and that I had downed wires in the yard. The automated response let me know that they would have power restored by 8 PM 04-September (next Sunday). I figured that I would be living in my RV for the week. By the time that I got back to the house, I was very surprised to see 3 PSE&G trucks pulling up. It took them some time to free the downed wire from the trees and vines. It was right around this time that the wind and a small amount of rain started up from the back side of the hurricane. I commend the PSE&G workers for their dedication to be out working before the storm had passed. After they completed here, they fixed some other local problems and were able to restore power before it got dark. I feel lucky this time that power was restored this quickly. I know that there are many others still without power and the PSE&G crews will be busy for the next several days. The following images were taken with a Leica X1 camera. Images taken with a Nikon D700 camera will be included in another post.

PSE&G Truck and Crew Getting Set Up oo Repair the Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Truck and Crew Getting Set Up oo Repair the Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Workers Viewing the Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Workers Viewing the Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Truck and Crew Working on the Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Truck and Crew Working on the Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Worker Working to Free the the Downed Power Line from Trees and Vines. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Worker Working to Free the the Downed Power Line from Trees and Vines. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)

Eight-Years Ago (28-August-2011) — New Jersey

Hurricane Irene. Central New Jersey.

My Sunday morning post from eight-years ago. Today we are watching Hurricane  Dorian as it tracks toward Florida.

I spent Friday and Saturday getting prepared for Hurricane Irene. The storm intensity started increasing late Saturday night. At about 11:30 PM, I heard a crash and the lights went out. When I got up Sunday morning the wind and rain had decreased significantly. I guess this was when the eye of the hurricane was moving up the coast of New Jersey directly east. When I went out I saw that a tree had fallen next to the road and took down the power, cable, and phone lines. I tried to call in the fallen lines to PSE&G, but couldn’t get past the automated emergency reporting system. My wireless Internet connection also didn’t work. A lot of branches and tree limbs were down in the yard, but thankfully no damage to the house or vehicles. The following images are of the nearby Rock Brook and local woods. Normally at this time of the year, the brook is almost dry. The road closed sign was right in front of my driveway.

Road Closed. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Road Closed. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)

Ten-Years Ago (28-August-2009) — Washington

Gone to See North America Road Trip. Day 07: Bellingham, Washington – Alaska Marine Highway on the MV Columbia.

Everyone boarded and we were on our way on the Alaska Marine Highway from Bellingham to Haines. My RV “White Ram” is in the hold, and I have a cabin on one of the upper decks. We had a Coast Guard escort as we left port. The flag was at half mast for the death of Senator Kennedy. I was surprised to see how many folks would be camping out on deck for the trip to Alaska.

Leaving Bellingham to Alaska on the M/V Columbia - Alaska Marine Highway. Image taken with a Nikon D300. (David J. Mathre)
Leaving Bellingham to Alaska on the M/V Columbia – Alaska Marine Highway. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera. (David J. Mathre)
US Coast Guard Escort for the Alaska Marine Highway M/V Columbia leaving Bellingham Washington for Alaska. Image taken with a Nikon D300 and 18-200 VR lens (ISO 200, 200 mm, f/7, 1/160 sec). (David J. Mathre)
US Coast Guard Escort for the Alaska Marine Highway MV Columbia leaving Bellingham Washington for Alaska. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 18-200 VR lens (ISO 200, 200 mm, f/7, 1/160 sec). (David J. Mathre)
US Coast Guard Escort for the Alaska Marine Highway M/V Columbia leaving Bellingham Washington for Alaska. Image taken with a Nikon D300 and 18-200 VR lens (ISO 200, 200 mm, f/7, 1/160 sec). (David J. Mathre)
US Coast Guard Escort for the Alaska Marine Highway MV Columbia leaving Bellingham Washington for Alaska. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 18-200 VR lens (ISO 200, 200 mm, f/7, 1/160 sec). (David J. Mathre)
Passengers on the Alaska Marine Highway MV Columbia camping on the Solarium deck. Composite of two images taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 50 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 1600, 50 mm, f/4, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Passengers on the Alaska Marine Highway MV Columbia camping on the Solarium deck. Composite of two images taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 50 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 1600, 50 mm, f/4, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
"The Other Boleyn Girl" Solarium Deck on the M/V Columbia Alaska Marine Highway. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 50 mm f/1.4D lens (ISO 1600, 50 mm, f/4, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)
“The Other Boleyn Girl” Solarium Deck on the MV Columbia Alaska Marine Highway. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 50 mm f/1.4D lens (ISO 1600, 50 mm, f/4, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)