Month: August 2020

Monday (03-August-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Morning at the Birdfeeders: Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, House Finch, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, and Northern Cardinal.


Morning at the Birdfeeder. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

NOAA predicted that Tropical Storm Isaias would pass through central New Jersey with heavy rains and high winds. I spent the afternoon moving all of the Grow Towers next to the house and moving the cactus and patio furniture inside.

Daily Electric Energy Used (75.7 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (70.7 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. More sun, and hot outside keeping the Geothermal HVAC busy. A deficit of 5.0 kWh.

Sunday (02-August-2020) — New Jersey

Summer Nighttime Nature in New Jersey.

Every night the deer keep nibbling on my weeds and wildflowers. Unfortunately, they don’t nibble on the invasive “mile-a-minute” vine.

Daily Electric Energy Used (73.0 kWh) from Sense. Weekly Solar Electric Energy Produced (54.8 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Clouds in the morning, sun in the afternoon. A deficit of 18.2 kWh.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (470 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (438 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. A deficit of 32 kWh.

Saturday (01-August-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

My workhorse telephoto zoom 70-300 mm VR lens for the Nikon 1 camera has been acting up. Unfortunately, Nikon discontinued both the mirrorless Nikon 1 cameras and lenses. This lens on the Nikon 1 camera has the field of view equivalent to 189-810 mm on a full frame 35 mm camera sensor. I found a Japanese vendor online that had a 70-300 mm lens listed as practically new for sale. It was a bit more than I paid for the original 70-300 lens, but I felt that I needed the backup in case the original lens failed. The shipment got caught up in customs and I had to pay additional duty because of a tariff on Japanese goods. Thanks twitterer-in-chief for increasing the taxes I have to pay. Many folks don’t understand that it is the US consumer, not the foreign company that needs to pay these extra taxes. Vent over.

I went for an afternoon backyard walkabout with the N1V3 camera and new lens. Harvey the rabbit was out munching on the grass that needs to be cut. It appears that the recent Vultures left the skeleton of a small animal roadkill in the yard. Even though the majority of wildflowers are beginning to die off due to the excess heat, the more hearty Larkspur, Thistle, and Lance-leaf Coreopsis are providing nectar for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies and Clearwing Hummingbird moths.

Harvey the Rabbit. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Harvey the Rabbit. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Larkspur. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Larkspur. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Dark morph of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Dark morph of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Robber Fly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Robber Fly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (58.5 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (71.6 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Lots of sun. A surplus of 13.1 kWh.