Saturday (10-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Night Sky Over New Jersey.

The weather forecast indicated the night sky would be relatively clear for a couple of nights. I hope to capture some of the annual Perseid Meteor Shower. The moon would be out for part of each night, so not ideal conditions. But I figured I would try. I set up a Nikon D810a camera with a 8-15 mm fisheye lens (ISO 800, 12 mm, f/4, 8 sec) to capture images all night (2550 images in total). It takes a lot of time to process all of the images for a Time-lapse video, and several Star Trail images. Lots of Jet Trails. How many Meteor Trails do you see?  The Time-lapse Video is best viewed in a dark room.


Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slide show.


Daily Electric Energy Used (61.8 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (73.43 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. I needed to clean the oven, and cooked dinner in the oven adding 3.7 kWh to the total used. Daily net surplus 11.6 kWh.

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Friday (09-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Daily Walkabout: I came upon a pair of Trolls that found a large Mushroom rising from the pile of black wood chip mulch.

Hiking Trolls Discover Large Mushroom. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 64, 105 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Hiking Trolls Discover Large Mushroom. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 64, 105 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (57.2 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (69.3 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Load of laundry (4.4 kWh) adding to the total used. Daily net surplus 12.1 kWh.

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Nine-Years Ago (09-August-2010) — Nevada

Gone to See America August 2010 Road Trip. Day 9: California to Nevada.

Closest Restaurant, Bar and Motel to Area 51. Little ALEINN in Rachel, Nevada. Earthlings Welcome. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 45 mm f/2.8 PC-E lens (ISO 100, 45 mm, f/16, 1/80 sec).

Earthlings Welcome. Little Aleinn Restaurant Bar and Motel in Rachel, Nevada. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 45 mm f/2.8 PC-E lens (ISO 100, 45 mm, f/16, 1/80 sec). (David J Mathre)
Earthlings Welcome. Little Aleinn Restaurant Bar and Motel in Rachel, Nevada. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 45 mm f/2.8 PC-E lens (ISO 100, 45 mm, f/16, 1/80 sec). (David J Mathre)

Nine-Years Ago (09-August-2010) — Nevada

Gone to See America August 2010 Road Trip. Day 9: California to Nevada.

Extraterrestrial Highway Sign (Nevada 375). For those that are planning on visiting  Area 51 this year. Note, there are not many places to stay in the vicinity so plan on roughing it. Bring plenty of water.


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


Thursday (08-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Daily Walkabout: I went out with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens. Flowers (Poppy, Zinnia, Bee Balm, Larkspur, Sunflowers), Insects (Silver-spotted Skipper, Tiger Swallowtail, Painted Lady, Common Buckeye, Bumblebee, Snowberry Clearwing Moth, Eastern Leaf-footed Bug), and Frogs (Kermit the one-eyed Bullfrog). I didn’t notice the pair of Eastern Leaf-footed Bugs mating on the Thistle flower until processing the images.


Flowers. Click on the above image to access the individual images from the slideshow.



Butterflies, Moths, Bees, and Eastern Leaf-footed Bug. Click on the above image to access the individual images from the slideshow.



Kermit the One-eyed Bullfrog. Click on the above image to access the individual images from the slideshow.


Daily Electric Energy Used (57.5 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (64.9 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Daily net surplus 7.4 kWh.

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