Category: Transportation

Saturday (04-September-2021) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, Tufted Titmouse, Black-capped Chickadee, House Finch, Northern Cardinal.


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

Flowers of the day: Blanket Flower, Butterfly Bush, Canna, Cosmos, Evening Primrose, Four O’Clock, Marigold, Morning Glory, Rose Mallow, Sunflower and Zinnia.


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


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

I took my bike out for a spin to see the damage from Tropical Storm Ida on Hollow road. The bridge on Grandview road crossing Rock Brook to Hollow road is closed (blocked by a downed tree). Once on Hollow road I was amazed by the damage. The brook must have been many feet over its bank. There were homes destroyed, vehicles in the woods, pavement washed away. It will be some time before everything can be repaired. The following is a Little Planet time-lapse video of the bike ride.

Daily Electric Energy Used (46.4 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (59.7kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Mostly sunny. Surplus of 13.3 kWh.

Thursday (02-September-2021) — New Jersey

Hurricane Ida Aftermath.

Yesterday afternoon and night the remnants of Hurricane Ida passed through New Jersey. My weather station recorded nearly 7 inches (175 mm) of rain. There were several tornado warnings, and I spent some time down in the basement. The rain stopped around midnight. As soon as the sun came up this morning, I went for a walkabout down Grandview Road to the single lane bridge over Rock Brook. There was a pickup truck with a very long trailer having problems trying to turn around. Also, a dump truck that needed to back out. Once I got close to the bridge, the asphalt roadway had been washed off of the road. Water was running across the roadway, and the bridge was blocked with several fallen trees. It will be some time before the bridge and roadway can be repaired. I can’t complain as I still have power, and no flooding.


Damage from the Remnants of Hurricane Ida. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Damage from the Remnants of Hurricane Ida. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Damage from the Remnants of Hurricane Ida. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Damage from the Remnants of Hurricane Ida. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Damage from the Remnants of Hurricane Ida. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (63.7 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (64.0 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. The sun returned. A surplus of 0.3 kWh.

Five-Years Ago (05-April-2016) — Atlantic Ocean

Viewed from the deck of the MV World Odyssey: Northern Gannet, Royal Tern, and Eurasian Collared-Dove. The Dove was a stowaway that we probably picked up while docked in Ghana. My eBird Checklist. My eBird Checklist. My eBird Checklist.


Viewed from the deck of the MV World Odyssey. Images taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Five-Years Ago (16-March-2016) — Zambia, Zimbabwe

Gone to See the World. Semester at Sea Spring 2016 Voyage on the MV World Odyssey. Day 71: Victoria Falls, Zambezi River, Zimbabwe

Field trip on the Zambezi River: Egyptian Goose, White-headed Lapwing, African Openbill, African Darter, Long-tailed Cormorant, Little Egret, Squacco Heron, Striated Heron, Glossy Ibis, African Sacred Ibis, Hadada Ibis, Wire-tailed Swallow. My eBird Checklist


Afternoon voyage on the Zambezi River. Images taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Five-Years Ago (06-March-2016) — Indian Ocean

Gone to See the World. Semester at Sea Spring 2016 Voyage on the MV World Odyssey. Day 61: Neptune Day while crossing the Indian Ocean.

Neptune Day celebration. Time-lapse video of the shellback initiation for those crossing the equator their first time. Over 50 of the students and life-long learners had their heads shaved.

Shellbacks. (David J Mathre)
Shellbacks. MV World Odyssey At Sea Indian Ocean. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and a Zeiss 12 mm f/2.8 lens. (David J Mathre)

I hope that Semester at Sea is able to run voyages in the future post COVID-19.