My Little Planet time-lapse videos. 1) Installing a Tent Box “Classic” onto White Rhino. I purchased the Tent Box over a year ago. The delivery took a while, and the roof rack mounting bars were for a Range Rover Sport, not the Range Rover Classic. I ended up having the local Land Rover dealer install the factory roof rack. Normally a job for two to install the Tent Box on a vehicle, but I employed Red Rover as my helper. 2) Red Rover’s Little Planet view of installing the TentBox. 3) Red Rover, switching from front forks to front loader bucket, and switching from rear tool carrier/weight to back hoe. 4) Attaching the backhoe to Red Rover. Actually, pretty easy for one person to do since the hydraulics do the heavy lifting. Normal view riding Red Rover with the front loader bucket and rear backhoe.
Daily Electric Energy Used (60.3 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (17.6 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sun and clouds. Getting colder outside so the Geothermal HVAC is heating the house. Deficit of 42.7 kWh.
Weekly Electric Energy Used (340 kWh) from Sense. Weekly Solar Electric Energy Produced (144 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Deficit of 196 kWh.
Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Mourning Dove, Turkey Vulture, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Black-capped Chickadee, European Starling, American Robin, House Finch.
Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Flowers (and plants) of the day: Chinese Forget-me-not, Cosmos, Marigold, Plains Coreopsis, Teasel.
Flowers and Plants of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Time-lapse video of a day in the wildflower meadow. This section was plated late in summer with Cosmos and Plains Coreopsis. The earlier planting in this section failed, mainly coming up with tall grass instead of the spring to summer wildflowers. I mowed the grass down, rototilled, and covered with a black-agricultural fabric to kill off the weeds for several weeks before replanting. I am now starting to get some flowers even though the plants are not very tall. Another section was planted with Marigold and Zinnia. They are not growing very fast, and have not bloomed. It also doesn’t help that the Deer and Ground Hog continue to nibble on the small plants. [Click on the full screen button, bottom right corner to view a larger image.]
I haven’t seen any Monarch butterflies until today since August. Usually there are some of the group that migrates south to hibernate around in October. One of the places that I usually see them in October is at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. This year the brush along the high-pressure underground gas line was mowed, and there are no flowers to attract the Monarch butterflies. Today, while rototilling one of my wildflower meadows to prepare for next spring I noticed the shadow of a butterfly flying. When I turned around, I saw a Monarch. It landed on a Zinnia flower. I dropped everything and ran inside to get a camera. When I got back outside, I found the Monarch feeding on a Marigold flower.
Monarch butterfly feeding on a Marigold flower. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Deer in the backyard. They keep trying to get into the fenced off areas. Some look pretty scrawny.
Critters of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Waxing Gibbous moon with my new Sigma 150-600 mm sport (L-mount) lens on a Leica SL2 camera.
Waxing Gibbous Moon. Image taken with a Leica SL2 camera and Sigma 150-600 mm OIS lens (handheld). (David J Mathre)
Daily Electric Energy Used (53.4 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (33.3 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sunny. Deficit of 20.1 kWh.
Viewed from the deck of the MV Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Afternoon Wild Basin hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audobon’s). My eBird Checklist.
Yellow-rumped Warbler. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Daily Visitors. Images taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
