Eleven-Years Ago (07-October-2008) — California

Gone to See America October 2008 Road Trip. Eighth Annual Nikonian Photography Adventure Trip. Day 3: Yosemite National Park.

Rock Slide at Curry Village.  Hard to believe it has been ten years since I experienced a rock slide at Curry Village. Since then, many of the cabins and cabin tents in Curry Village were relocated further away from the valley walls. This year Curry Village got its name back after a trademark dispute between the National Park Service and the previous concessions service company. All of the hotels, lodges, campsites, and restaurants within Yosemite National Park had to change their names for a couple of years. Since the rock slide, I stayed in Curry Village two more times.

After our morning session, we ate lunch at Curry Village. Michael Mariant was going to do an IR photography workshop in the afternoon. On the way to the workshop, we stopped by our cabins. As we were leaving the cabins there was this loud noise. At first it sounded like thunder — but the sky was blue with no clouds. The noise got louder, and Michael yelled “run for your lives — rock slide” We all ran from our cabins to the parking lot. Since I drove, I was one of the few  that had cameras and lenses available. Most of the folks left their gear in the cabin for the IR workshop. I took the  following images  during and just after the rock slide. Luckily, there were no injuries since most everyone was out of Curry Village visiting other parts of Yosemite  when the rock slide occurred. Later in the afternoon, a Park Service helicopter with a USGS geologist surveyed the rock slide site and declared things safe. Only then were we permitted to return to our cabins. A school group was also staying at Curry village. That evening the Elementary school age children moved to a different campsite. The Middle and High school students remained at Curry Village. The crisis counselors told the students that a large rock falls in Yosemite Valley on average every 9-10 days, so they would be safe for the rest of the trip. Little did they know that Murphy was listening!!!!


Sunday (06-October-2019) — New Jersey

Autumn Indoor Nature in New Jersey.

Daily walkabout with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. After the rain and temperature dropping 40 degrees, I thought all of the Monarch butterflies left for Mexico. Today, I found one of the hundred or so that were here last week remained. It was spending its time feeding on the Cosmos flowers. Afterwards, I mowed the lawn. The grass is pretty dry, and the leaves from the trees are starting to drop. There are lots of black walnuts on the ground. This year I’ll leave those for the squirrels to collect. It’s too much work to dry them and then after cracking the black walnuts open, it is really hard to remove the nut meat. Finally, a Harvestman (daddy long legs) spider visiting a security camera in the middle of the night.

Click on the above image to access my Photoshelter gallery that contains the images in the following slideshow.


Daily Electric Energy Used (49.6kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (204 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of clouds. Overall a net deficit of 38.3 kWh.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (364 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (206 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Several cloudy days, and the indoor hydroponic systems came online. Overall a net deficit of 158 kWh.

Past Week Weather Conditions.

Current Weather Conditions

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Tuesday (01-October-2019) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

The deer continue to be a problem. They were back in the wildflower meadow again last night. I have deployed three Air-Dancer Scarecrows, that go off at random intervals.

Daily Electric Energy Used (54.3 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (41.6 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More sun in the afternoon and warmer out. The Geothermal HVAC used 6.1 kWh for cooling. The new hydroponic gardens used 8.7 kWh. Overall a net deficit of 12.7 kWh.

Current Weather Conditions

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Tuesday (01-October-2019) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Daily walkabout with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens. There must have been a hundred Monarch butterflies feeding in my wildflower meadows today. The Monarch butterflies were feeding on Cosmos, Zinnia, Mexican Sunflower, and Marigold flowers. At least one Monarch butterfly was caught, probably by a Praying Mantis. All that was left were the wings on the ground. The Painted Lady butterflies liked the Marigold and Lemon Mint flowers.


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



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


Daily Electric Energy Used (54.3 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (41.6 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More sun in the afternoon and warmer out. The Geothermal HVAC used 6.1 kWh for cooling. The new hydroponic gardens used 8.7 kWh. Overall a net deficit of 12.7 kWh.

Current Weather Conditions

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Six-Years Ago (28-September-2013) — South Dakota

Gone to See America 2013 Road Trip. Badlands National Park.

A Butt only a Mother could love. Badlands National Park, South Dakota. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec).

A Butt Only a Mother Could Love. Badlands National Park, South Dakota. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). (David J Mathre)
A Butt Only a Mother Could Love. Badlands National Park, South Dakota. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). (David J Mathre)