Tuesday (31-March-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

One of the neighborhood cats hunting. Reminds me it is time to spread cotton balls that have been soaked with ivermectin around the backyard. The birds and mice bring them back to their nests which then helps to eliminate deer ticks.

Neighborhood Cat hunting in my backyard. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 250, 400 mm, f/6.4, 1/60 sec) (David J Mathre)
Neighborhood Cat hunting in my backyard. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 250, 400 mm, f/6.4, 1/60 sec) (David J Mathre)

Daily Electric Energy Used (59.1 kWh) from Sense Home Energy Monitor and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (17.8 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Cloudy and rainy all day. A deficit of 41.3 kWh.

Monthly Electric Energy Used (1865 kWh) from Sense Home Energy Monitor and monthly Solar Electric Energy Produced (1277 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. A deficit of 588 kWh. Maybe we will be positive in April…

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Monday (30-March-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

In the morning, a Dark-eyed Junco looking for food. The sun came out for a bit in the late afternoon in time for the herd of deer to stop by and trim the grass. The grass has turned green and is growing fast. Unfortunately, one of the tires on my tractor is flat and I don’t know when I will be able to get it fixed…

Dark-eyed Junco looking for food on a rainy morning. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/4, 1/640 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Dark-eyed Junco looking for food on a rainy morning. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/4, 1/640 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Dark-eyed Junco looking for food on a rainy morning. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/4, 1/320 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Dark-eyed Junco looking for food on a rainy morning. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/4, 1/320 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)


Click on the above image to access my PhotoShelter Gallery with the individual images in the following slideshow.


Daily Electric Energy Used (58.2 kWh) from Sense Home Energy Monitor and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (13.5 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Cloudy all day. A deficit of 44.7 kWh.

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Friday (27-March-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Spring Nighttime Sky Over New Jersey.

Star Trails looking up and west. Only about an hour with limited clouds. Not many jet trails crossing the western sky as air travel has been significantly curtailed. One meteor trail in the second image.

Star Trails looking up. Composite of images taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens (ISO 800, 11 mm, f/8, 30 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Star Trails looking up. Composite of images taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens (ISO 800, 11 mm, f/8, 30 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Star Trails looking up. Composite of images taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens (ISO 800, 11 mm, f/8, 30 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Star Trails looking up. Composite of images taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens (ISO 800, 11 mm, f/8, 30 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Star Trails looking west. Composite of images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 19 mm f/4 PC-E lens (ISO 800, 19 mm, f/8, 120 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Star Trails looking west. Composite of images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 19 mm f/4 PC-E lens (ISO 800, 19 mm, f/8, 120 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (61.2 kWh) from Sense Home Energy Monitor and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (71.5 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of sunshine. A surplus of 10.3 kWh.

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Wednesday (25-March-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

There were a number of birds out today. Several Juncos feeding on the ground, a House Finch, Marsh Wren, and several Northern Cardinal feeding at the bird feeder. A “murder” of Black Crows were working the lawn looking for earthworms. The earthworms were out because the ground is saturated. I haven’t seen any Robins yet this spring that would also be after the earthworms. The crows attracted the attention of a Turkey Vulture that landed looking for something to eat. The crows quickly joined together making a lot of noise and then chasing the turkey vulture away.

Junco. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/4, 1/200 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Junco. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/4, 1/200 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
March Wren. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/4, 1/800 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
March Wren. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/4, 1/800 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)


Black Crow. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Black Crow. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Black Crow. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Black Crow. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)



Individual images from the slideshows can be found in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (60.8 kWh) from Sense Home Energy Monitor and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (10.8 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Cloudy and rainy all day. A deficit of 50.0 kWh.

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Saturday (21-March-2020) — New Jersey

Outdoor Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Afternoon walkabout — the Daffodils along the side road are blooming.

Daffodils. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/6.4, 1/1100 sec). (David J Mathre)
Daffodils. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/6.4, 1/1100 sec). (David J Mathre)
Daffodils. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/6.4, 1/600 sec). (David J Mathre)
Daffodils. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/6.4, 1/600 sec). (David J Mathre)
Daffodils. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/6.4, 1/750 sec). (David J Mathre)
Daffodils. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/6.4, 1/750 sec). (David J Mathre)
Daffodils. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/6.4, 1/1250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Daffodils. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/6.4, 1/1250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Daily Electric Energy Used (53.6 kWh) from Sense Home Energy Monitor and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (67.5 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Bright and sunny day with a surplus of 13.9 kWh.

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