Monday (10-September-2012) — Belgium

Gone to see Europe. Semester at Sea. Fall 2012 Semester Voyage on the MV Explorer. Day 18: Arrive in Antwerp, Belgium.

Belgium Waffles, Strawberries, and Chocolate in Brussels. Image taken with a Leica V-Lux-30 camera (ISO 200, 4.3 mm, f/3.3, 1/50 sec).

Belgium Waffles, Strawberries, and Chocolate in Brussels. Image taken with a Leica V-Lux-30 camera (ISO 200, 4.3 mm, f/3.3, 1/50 sec). Semester at Sea Fall 2012 Voyage. (David J. Mathre)
Belgium Waffles, Strawberries, and Chocolate in Brussels. Image taken with a Leica V-Lux-30 camera (ISO 200, 4.3 mm, f/3.3, 1/50 sec). (David J. Mathre)

Monday (06-August-2012) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Squirrel Eating a Mushroom. My sixth day of Retirement. I took a series of images of rabbits and this squirrel while sitting in my car in my driveway while listening to “A Good American” on SiriusXM. Now that I am not commuting 3+ hours a day I can photograph the local wildlife while listening to books on satellite radio. You might wonder why I am in the car listening to the satellite radio — I don’t have a receiver for SiriusXM in the house, and I am hooked on listening to several of the books being read at this time. I was also waiting for UPS to make a delivery of a Nikon D4 camera. The delivery was supposed to arrive last Friday. UPS claimed that I wasn’t present to sign for the package on Friday — but I had been sitting in the driveway listening to “Three Junes” on SiriusXM at the same time (5:03 PM) that UPS indicated that I was not present. I guess that the driver wanted to go home early on a summer Friday. The package did arrive tonight at ~6:30 PM. Unlike the first wave of D4 deliveries, this one did not include a XQD memory card and XQD card reader. Hope to have some images from the D4 to share tomorrow.

Squirrel Eating a Mushroom. Summer Backyard Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)
Squirrel Eating a Mushroom. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)

Sunday (05-August-2012) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature in New Jersey: Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Monarch Butterfly Being Stalked by a Praying Mantis. Today while hiking in the Sourland Mountain Preserve I had a Monarch Butterfly stay long enough to get some images. I then saw that there was a praying mantis stalking the butterfly. The praying mantis is well camouflaged. In this case the butterfly took off before it became breakfast. Last year I got some images of a praying mantis stalking and then eating a hummingbird moth. 21-august-2011.

Monarch Butterfly on a Joe Pye Weed Bloom at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Look Closely Below to See a Praying Mantis Staking the Butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/2.8, 1/400 sec). . (David J Mathre)
Monarch Butterfly on a Joe Pye Weed Bloom at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/2.8, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)

GPS: N40°28’19 W74°41’41

Wednesday (01-August-2012) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Rabbit Eating Clover in the Rain. My first day of Retirement. I’ve been working for Merck Research Laboratories in Rahway, New Jersey; Boulder, Colorado; and West Point, Pennsylvania for the last 27 years. I can now spend more time with my new passion of photography and travel. I took a series of images of this rabbit in the rain. I was sitting in my car in my driveway while listening to “The Race” on SiriusXM. Now that I am not commuting 3+ hours a day I can photograph the local wildlife while listening to books on satellite radio.

Rabbit Eating Clover in the Rain. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/4, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)
Rabbit Eating Clover in the Rain. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/4, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)

Four-Years Ago (11-May-2008) — Colorado

Gone to See America. May 2008 Colorado Road Trip. Day 2: Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge.

Black Crowned Night Heron Been Fishing. Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge in Southern Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/1600 sec).

Black Crowned Night Heron Been Fishing, Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge in Southern Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D300 and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/1600 sec). . (David J Mathre)
Black Crowned Night Heron Been Fishing. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/1600 sec).  (David J Mathre)