Month: March 2022

Sunday (06-March-2022) — New Jersey

Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed in the backyard, at the birdfeeder and on the patio: No birds today?

Time-lapse video of Yellow and Red California Poppy flowers opening. At least three more flowers are about to bloom.

After raining in the morning, I spent the afternoon on Red Rover spreading more of the wood chips.

Daily Electric Energy Used (72.9 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (20.2 kWh) from Sense. Sun and clouds. Deficit of 52.7 kWh. I should note that the Solar monitoring from SolSystem via Locus Energy stopped working since the Locus LG-120 meter uses 3G cellular to connect. ATT has turned off 3G cellular.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (614 kWh) from Sense. Weekly Solar Electric Energy Produced (321 kWh) from Sense. Deficit of 293 kWh.

Saturday (05-March-2022) — New Jersey

Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed in the backyard, at the birdfeeder and on the patio: Mourning Dove, Turkey Vulture, Downy Woodpecker, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Cardinal.


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

A second California Poppy flower opened in the indoor hydroponic garden. This one is yellow. At least three more flowers are about to bloom.

California Poppy. (David J Mathre)
Yellow and Red California Poppy. Image taken with a Leica SL2 camera and 90-280 mm lens. (David J Mathre)

Daily Electric Energy Used (92.2 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (40.8 kWh) from Sense. Sun and clouds. Deficit of 51.4 kWh. I should note that the Solar monitoring from SolSystem via Locus Energy stopped working since the Locus LG-120 meter uses 3G cellular to connect. ATT has turned off 3G cellular.

Friday (04-March-2022) — New Jersey

Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed in the backyard, at the birdfeeder and on the patio: Dark-eyed Junco.


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

I spent much of the day working on the yard. A lot to do to get ready for spring. The ground is wet. For the time-lapse video, I’m moving and spreading wood chips using Red Rover.

Daily Electric Energy Used (104.3 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (58.3 kWh) from Sense. Sunny, but colder. Deficit of 46.0 kWh. I should note that the Solar monitoring from SolSystem via Locus Energy stopped working since the Locus LG-120 meter uses 3G cellular to connect. ATT has turned off 3G cellular.

Thursday (03-March-2022) — New Jersey

Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed in the backyard, at the birdfeeder and on the patio: Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, European Starling, Dark-eyed Junco, White-throated Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal.


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

Indoor Hydroponic Updates. Bounty-01 (Day 46). Bok Choi doing well. The final plants were harvested today, and the Bounty restarted with Bok Choi seedling transplants. The Dill is growing tall and the plants harvesed. The Black-seeded Simpson and Rouge d’Hiver lettuce doing well. Harvesting leaves every other day. The Genovese Basil is doing well. I’ve needed to top off the water every day and add fertilizer every other day. Bounty-03 (Day 38). Dill and Genovese Basil doing well. The Italian and Curly Parsley starting to get bigger. Bounty-04 (Day 20). Heirloom Red Tomatoes (5/5). Golden Harvest Tomatoes (4/4). The Heirloom Red Tomatoes were all transplanted to a Farm module. Bounty-04 was restarted with transplanted Basil seedlings.


Bounty-01, Bounty-02, Bounty-03, Bounty-04. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

AeroGarden Farm-01L (Day 45). California Poppy, Oriental Poppy, Lauren’s Grape Poppy. AeroGarden Farm-01R (Day 42). Hungarian Bread Seed Poppy, Red Poppy, Turkish Tulip Poppy. AeroGarden Farm-02L (Day 45). Somn Blend Poppy, Red Poppy Red Poppy, Red Mix Poppy. AeroGarden Farm-02R (Day 42). Oriental Poppy, Hungarian Bread Seed Poppy, Turkish Tulip Poppy, Red Poppy, Red Poppy, Somn Blend Poppy.


Farm-01L, Farm-01R, Farm-02L, Farm-02R. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

AeroGarden Farm-03L and Farm-03R (Day 38). Kale, Collard Greens, Spinach, Mustard Greens. All of the greens are growing fast, and producing large leaves. I am having to harvest the largest leaves to provide light to the smaller plants. AeroGarden Farm-04L and Farm-04R (Day 38). Oregano, Rosemary, Tarragon, Thyme, and Sage.


Farm-03L, Farm-03R, Farm-04L, Farm-04R. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

AeroGarden Farm-06L (Day 29). Snapdragon (A1); Chrysanthemum (A2, A3); Iceland Poppy (B1, B2); Sweet William (B3), Columbine (C1, C2, C3); Osteospermum (D1, D2); Blue Daisy (D3). AeroGarden Farm-06R (Day 11). Various types of lettuce. Red Sails (A1, A2, A3, B3); Deer Tongue (B1, B2); Black-seeded Simpson (C1, C2); Rouge d’Hiver (C3, D3); Paris Island (D1, D2). AeroGarden Farm-07L (Day 11). Heirloom Red Tomatoes and Golden Harvest Tomatoes. AeroGarden Farm-0RL (Day 11). Bok Choi (12/12) already sprouted.


Farm-06L, Farm-06R, Farm-07L, Farm-07R. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

AeroGarden Farm-08 (Day 45). California Poppy, Oriental Poppy, Lauren’s Grape Poppy. The odd plant is Celosia. The first California Poppy flower opened yesterday. Today I made a time-lapse video of the flower opening. This California poppy is bright red. Most in the past have been yellow or orange. AeroGarden Farm-08R (Day 45). Hungarian Bread Seed Poppy, Red Poppy, Turkish Tulip Poppy. AeroGarden Farm-09L (Day 45). Somn Blend Poppy, Red Poppy Red Poppy, Red Mix Poppy. AeroGarden Farm-09R Seed Starter (Day 11). Nine different Basil varieties. Row A: Dark Opal Basil (6/9). Row B: Cinnamon Basil (9/9). Row C: Genovese Basil (8/10). Row D: Holy Basil (8/11). Row E: Italian Large Leaf Basil (8/8). Row F: Lemon Basil (9/10). Row G: Lime Basil (10/11). Row H. Sweet Basil (9/9). Row I: Thai Basil (6/8).


Farm-08L, Farm-08R, Farm-09L, Farm-09R. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (79.2 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (57.3 kWh) from Sense. Sunny. Deficit of 21.9 kWh. I should note that the Solar monitoring from SolSystem via Locus Energy stopped working since the Locus LG-120 meter uses 3G cellular to connect. ATT has turned off 3G cellular.

Wednesday (02-March-2022) — New Jersey

Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed in the backyard, at the birdfeeder and on the patio: Mourning Dove, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, European Starling, Eastern Bluebird, Dark-eyed Junco, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal.


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

I noticed the Purple Crocus starting to bloom across the street. It is not the earliest, but still a sign that spring is coming.


Spring is Coming!. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

One of the indoor Hydroponic Garden California Poppies started to bloom (Day 45). This one is bright Red. Normally, I think of California Poppies as being yellow or orange. The final Bok Choi (Day 46) is ready to harvest.


Indoor Hydroponic Garden. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

The Troll with the Hot Peppers guarding my mailbox. It survived the winter without being hit by the snow plows.

Mailbox Troll. (David J Mathre)
Mailbox Troll with Hot Peppers. Image taken with a Leica SL2 camera and 90-280 mm lens. (David J Mathre)

Daily Electric Energy Used (82.3 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (54.3 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sunny. Deficit of 28.0 kWh.