Friday (10-July-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Survived Tropical Storm Fay without any damage. A good amount of rain (3.3 inches, 84 mm), that filled the nearly dry pond. The frogs sounded happy.

Birds of the Day: Red-bellied Woodpecker, Brown-headed Cowbird, Blue Jay, American Goldfinch, Mourning Dove, LBJ, Chipping Sparrow, and Gray Catbird. Can’t tell if the LBJ is a female House Finch, or immature/female Brown-headed Cowbird.


Backyard Summer Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Wildflowers of the Day: Teazel, Black-eyed Susan, Sunflower, Larkspur, Sweet William, and Marigold. This is the first Marigold flower of the season. Last year that section was mainly Marigold with some Bee Balm. This year the section is mainly Bee Balm, Lemon-Mint, Horsemint.


Backyard Summer Wildflowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (47.1 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (8.5 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Lots of clouds and rain. A deficit of 38.6 kWh. At least the solar panels got well washed, and the rain barrels filled.


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Saturday (04-July-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day: Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, American Goldfinch, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Song Sparrow, and Mourning Dove.


Backyard Summer Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Flowers of the Day: Poppies (Red, Pink, Icelandic), Black-eyed Susan, Moth Mullein, Blanket Flower, Larkspur, Foxglove, Spiderwort, Bergamot, Horsemint, Lemon-Mint, Bee Balm, Monarda, Mexican Hat, Teazel


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (61.7 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (60.9 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Mixed clouds and some sun. A deficit of 0.8 kWh. Power glitch in the morning stopped data collection on the Sense Monitor until it was rebooted. The daily numbers are guesstimates.


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Friday (03-July-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day: American Goldfinch, Blue Jay, Tufted Titmouse, Northern Cardinal, Gray Catbird, and House Finch.


Backyard Summer Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (64.7 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (56.8 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. More clouds. A deficit of 7.9 kWh.


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Monday (29-June-2020) — New Jersey

Early Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day: Blue Jay, Gray Catbird, Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, House Finch, American Goldfinch, and Turkey Vulture.


Summer Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Flowers of the Day: Purple Allium, Red Poppy, Blanket Flower, Teasel, Four O’Clock, Garlic Scapes, Delphinium, Larkspur, Garlic Scapes, Black-eyed Susan, Sunflower, Pink Poppy, and Foxglove.


Summer Flowers of the Day (portrait). Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Summer Flowers of the Day (landscape). Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Critters of the Day: Squirrel, Spots the Fawn, Rabbits, and Red Fox. This was the first time since last winter that I have seen Rabbits in the backyard. Within five minutes, the Red Fox showed up and the Rabbits disappeared.


Critters (mammals) of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (66.0 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (83.9 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Lots of Sun. A surplus of 17.9 kWh.


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Friday (26-June-2020) — New Jersey

Early Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day: American Goldfinch, LBJ, Tufted Titmouse, and Chipping Sparrow. Not sure if the LBJ is a female/immature House Finch, or female/immature Brown-headed Cowbird.

American Goldfinch. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 450, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)
American Goldfinch. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 450, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)
LBJ (not sure if it is a female/immature House Finch or female/immature Brown-headed Cowbird). Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 450, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)
LBJ (not sure if it is a female/immature House Finch or female/immature Brown-headed Cowbird). Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 450, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tufted Titmouse. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 450, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tufted Titmouse. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 450, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)
Chipping Sparrow. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 450, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)
Chipping Sparrow. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 450, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)

Early Summer Wildflowers: It appears that at least one Sunflower self-seeded, and grew high enough to bloom out of reach of the ravenous deer. I’ve seen several other sunflower plants clipped off before they could bloom. It looks like the bee (Bumblebee) likes Sunflower pollen.

Bee collecting pollen on a Sunflower. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/100 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Bee collecting pollen on a Sunflower. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/100 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Bee collecting pollen on a Sunflower. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/100 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Bee collecting pollen on a Sunflower. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/100 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Spent some time in the morning working on the patio Grow Towers. Still several to set up and plant.

Daily Electric Energy Used (53.3 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (78.3 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sun and intermittent clouds. A surplus of 25.0 kWh. The solar panels continue to produce more energy than required to keep the house cool with the energy efficient Geothermal HVAC system.


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