Friday (02-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Daily Walkabout. Today with a Nikon D5 camera and 200-500 mm f/4 VR lens. Lots of activity in the wildflower meadows. The Goldfinch are busy chowing down on Sunflower Seeds. Right now there are lots and lots of Sunflowers — different sizes and colors. A small pink wildflower, a Bee Balm flower, and some Blue Larkspur flowers. There were a couple of Bumble bees and a tiny green bee on a Thistle flower. There were more butterflies than I could count. Skippers, Monarchs, and Swallowtails. I need to be careful with the identification of the Swallowtails. There were two sizes of the Tiger Swallowtails, and some of the Black Swallowtails may actually be dark variants of female Tiger Swallowtails.


Goldfinch Eating Sunflower Seeds. Click on the Above image to access the images in the slideshow in my Photoshelter Gallery.



Flowers. Click on the Above image to access the images in the slideshow in my Photoshelter Gallery.



Skipper Butterflies. Click on the Above image to access the images in the slideshow in my Photoshelter Gallery.



Monarch Butterflies. Click on the Above image to access the images in the slideshow in my Photoshelter Gallery.



Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies. Click on the Above image to access the images in the slideshow in my Photoshelter Gallery.


Daily Electric Energy Used (51.8 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (61.4 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Net Surplus 9.6 kWh.

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Friday (02-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Daily Walkabout. Today with a Nikon D5 camera and 200-500 mm f/4 VR lens. Lots of activity in the wildflower meadows. Part II. There were a few Hummingbird Clearwing Moths out, feeding mainly on Zinnia flowers. A couple of Bullfrogs near the pond. One of the frogs is blind in one eye. It has been around for a while so obviously able to survive. I haven’t been able to get close to the really big Bullfrog in the pond. Someday, I will set up a blind near the pond. Finally, the deer family passed through around dinnertime.


Hummingbird Clearwing Moths (Hemaris thysbe) Click on the Above image to access the images in the slideshow in my Photoshelter Gallery.



Hummingbird Clearwing Moths (Hemaris thysbe) Click on the Above image to access the images in the slideshow in my Photoshelter Gallery.



Hummingbird Clearwing Moths (Hemaris thysbe) Click on the Above image to access the images in the slideshow in my Photoshelter Gallery.



Kermit the Bullfrog. Click on the Above image to access the images in the slideshow in my Photoshelter Gallery.


Fawn with spots sticking out its Tongue. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 200-500 mm f/5.6 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Fawn with Spots sticking out its Tongue. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 200-500 mm f/5.6 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (51.8 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (61.4 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Net Surplus 9.6 kWh.

Current Weather Conditions

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Nine-Years Ago (02-August-2010) — Utah

Gone to See America August 2010 Road Trip. Day 2: Crystal Geyser near Green River, Utah.

I returned to Crystal Geyser in the morning since I didn’t see it erupt the previous evening. The interesting thing about Crystal Geyser is that it is a cold geyser, powered by carbon dioxide. I did see a minor eruption, then hit the road for Great Basin National Park in Utah. For a bigger eruption check out  11-May-2009.

Crystal Geyser Eruption. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 24-70 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)
Crystal Geyser Eruption. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 24-70 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)

Thursday (01-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

From the three underused cameras yesterday, I narrowed it down to one — Leica CL with a 55-135 mm zoom lens. More Sunflower, Butterfly, and Snowberry Clearwing Moths. I also captured some images of a Goldfinch feeding on a Sunflower. The Goldfinch have graduated from the Cornflowers to something with larger seeds. My favoriate image of the day is the first one shown — two Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies, one in focus and the other out of focus.

Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 55-135 mm lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Two Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 55-135 mm lens (ISO 100, 135 mm, f/8, 1/400 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)


Sunflowers. Click on the above image to access the individual images from the slideshow at my Photoshelter Gallery.



Tiger Swallowtail, Common Buckeye, and Silver-spotted Skipper Butterflies. Click on the above image to access the individual images from the slideshow at my Photoshelter Gallery.



Snowberry Clearwing (Hummingbird) Moth. Click on the above image to access the individual images from the slideshow at my Photoshelter Gallery.



Goldfinch feeding on Sunflower seeds. Click on the above image to access the individual images from the slideshow at my Photoshelter Gallery.


Daily Electric Energy Used (est. 52 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (64.8 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. The amount used is an estimate because of some technical problems with the Sense monitor. Not as cloudy so solar energy production was up 24 kWh for an estimated net surplus of 13 kWh.

Current Weather Conditions

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Six-Years Ago (01-August-2013) — Iceland

Gone to See Iceland 2013 Photography Safari with Mike Hagen. Day 3: Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands).

Icelandic Horses are a unique breed of horses brought to Iceland by the Vikings. They have grown to be a hearty breed suited to the environment. I found them to be very friendly, and photogenic.


Click on the above image to access individual images in the slideshow in my Photoshelter Gallery.