Month: December 2021

Saturday (04-December-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Meditating Troll. (David J Mathre)
Meditating Troll with Hot Peppers. Image taken with a Leica Q2 Monochrom camera and 28 mm f/1.7 lens (ISO 100, 28 mm, f/2.8, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco.


Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Time-lapse videos. (1) Installing a Thule bike rack on White Rhino to carry my Elby bike. (2) Adjusting the TentBox connections on White Rhino.

White Rhino, TentBox, Elby. (David J Mathre)
White Rhino with the TentBox, Thule bike rack, and Elby bike.. Image taken with a Leica Q2 Monochrom camera and 28 mm f/1.7 lens (ISO 100, 28 mm, f/2.8, 1/50 sec). (David J Mathre)

Daily Electric Energy Used (57.6 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (23.8 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sun and clouds. Geothermal HVAC heating the house. Deficit of 33.8 kWh.

Friday (03-December-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Mourning Dove, Black-capped Chickadee, Blue Jay, Dark-eyed Junco.


Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Blue Jay Drinking from the Birdbath. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Red Rover time-lapse videos. (1) Installing a set of Pat’s Easy Change System for category 1 three point mounts on Red Rover. (2) Moving black mulch, used to cover the center driveway Holly and Pine tree section, and to cover the front yard Japanese Maple tree section.

A couple of notes about the Pat’s Easy Change System installation. I was looking for something to make it easier to change items attached to the Category 1 three point system on Red Rover. Like the quick change system on the front loader that I use to go between the front bucket and the forks. The installation documents for Pat’s Easy Change system were relatively straight forward. There was a note indicating that the system adds 4 inches to the length of the tractor lift arms, and that some tractor models may require a longer top link. That should have been in the information I read before purchasing the item. The first difference between the installation instruction and the package I received was they switched from using set screws with jamb nuts to hex bolts with jam nuts to align the Easy Change System. Also, my parts bag was missing the 0.25 inch roll pins used to hold the shims used to make the hitch parallel with the lift arm. I ended up using bolts and nuts to hold the shims in place. The rest of the instructions were straight forward. The installation gave me the opportunity to relevel the lift arms, and adjust the width between the arms to 26 inches. When I went to use the Easy Change system to re-connect my rear weight & tool holder to Red Rover, I found that I had to extend the top link to its maximum length (~25 inches). I may need to get a slightly longer adjustable top link. I will need to test the Easy Change system with my 3 point implements that use the PTO. Does the power drive connection to the implement extend the extra 4 inches?

Black & White images from a Leica Q2 Monochrom camera.


Black & White images from a Leica Q2 Monochrom camera. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (51.4 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (29.8 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sun and clouds. Geothermal HVAC heating the house. Deficit of 21.6 kWh.

Thursday (02-December-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Northern Mocking Bird, Eastern Bluebird, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird, Northern Cardinal. A flock of birds (tentative) flew into a tree, then left. I haven’t seen a Northern Mocking bird at the birdfeeders for a long time. This one was yelling at the Blue Jays, that were yelling back.


Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Infrared video of a Possum up close on the patio.

Red Rover time-lapse video. Moving black mulch, used to cover the Daffodil patch, Forsythia, and Lilac shrubs along the west side of the property. Temporary deer fence around the shrubs until the new Deer fence is installed.

Daily Electric Energy Used (53.1 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (14.0 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sunny. Geothermal HVAC heating the house. Deficit of 39.1 kWh.

Wednesday (01-December-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco.



Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Little Planet Time-lapse Videos. Red Rover using leaf vacuum and moving some black mulch. Last week I was not able to complete the autumn annual leaf cleanup with the John Deere mower and DR Power leaf vacuum. I attached a leaf vacuum adapter to Red Rover’s mower deck, but the 8″ diameter flexible hose to connect the mower deck adapter to the leaf vacuum was too short. I ordered an 8″ x 8′ flexible hose from McMaster Sunday night, and it was delivered Monday evening. I attached the new hose — it was just barely long enough. Once attached, I did the leaf cleanup. It took some adjustments getting the mower deck height on Red Rover right. I wanted to collect the leaves without cutting too much grass. I had to stop a couple of times to clear the vacuum hose plugged with leaves and grass clippings. When the leaf collection bag was full, I dumped the leaves in a temporary mulch heap. The cart was too full (and too heavy to dump by myself), but this time I remembered I could pull the long hinge pin and remove the collection bag cover and dump the contents. A lot easier than having to use Red Rover with the front forks. For the second time-lapse video, I moved some more of the black mulch, and finished the leaf collection. Most of the trees have dumped all of their leaves, so probably only need to do one more collection when the Sycamore tree drops the last of the leaves.

Daily Electric Energy Used (63.6 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (29.8 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sunny. Geothermal HVAC heating the house. Deficit of 33.8 kWh.