Daily walkabout with a Nikon D5 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens. I mainly focused on flowers today. Bumblebee on a Marigold, a Blue Larkspur, various Sunflowers, Zinnias, and a Hummingbird Clearwing moth (white legs) attracted to Lemon Mint flowers. I didn’t see any butterflies.
Bumblebee working a Marigold flower. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 1600, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Larkspur (Delphinium) flower. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 1100, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Sunflower. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 450, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Sunflower. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Sunflower. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 320, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Zinnia flowers. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 220, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Hummingbird Clearwing moth attracted to a Lemon Mint flower. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 1600, 400 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Hummingbird Clearwing moth attracted to a Lemon Mint flower. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 1250, 400 mm, f/8, 1/800 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Daily Electric Energy Used (47.8 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (63.3 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More sun, and higher temperatures for a net surplus of 15.5 kWh.
Daily Walkabout: I went out with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 200 mm f/2 OIS lens. Butterflies (Spicebush Swallowtail, Silver-spotted Skipper, Monarch, Painted Lady, Common Buckeye, and Tiger Swallowtail). Bumble Bees on a variety of Sunflowers. Leaf-legged Bug on a Thistle, and an ant on a Bee Balm.
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Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)Bee Balm Flower. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Daily Electric Energy Used (60.3 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (25.5 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. A load of Laundry (3.7 kWh) and two loads in the dishwasher contributed to the increased energy used. The sky was cloudy most of the day (but no measurable rain) impacted the solar production. Daily net deficit 34.8 kWh.
Daily Walkabout. My back hurts and it is really hot and humid outside. I only went out for a short time with a much lighter kit — Nikon D850 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. Bumble Bees, Butterflies (Skippers? and Monarch), and of course the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth. In addition to the Zinnia flowers, one Hummingbird Clearwing spent some time feeding on Larkspur (Delphinium) flowers. Later in the evening, before it started raining a small herd of deer passed through the backyard. I captured these images with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 200 mm f/2 OIS lens with a 1.4x teleconverter. There were only three fawns (used to be four), and one of the fawns has some open sores on its face. Three wary does stayed nearby. They were all being harassed by flies.
Bumble Bee. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)Bumble Bee. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
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Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) feeding on Larkspur Flowers. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) feeding on a Zinnia Flower. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
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Daily Power Use (67.9 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (71.8 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More clouds as the day progressed with the outdoor temperatures increasing, but still generated about 3 kWh more power that I used. The GeoThermal HVAC heat pump needed to run at full capacity (stage 2) part of the afternoon just to keep up with cooling the house. It will be interesting to see how the GeoThermal system does Friday to Sunday as the outside temperatures will be approaching 100 °F (38 °C).
Walkabout around the house to view the flowers and wildflower gardens. A Monarch butterfly, Bumblebees, and a Firefly in a Poppy Flower. Kermit the bullfrog in the pond and hiding in the grass, and an immature American Goldfinch eating the Bachelor Button (Cornflowers). The bird is blind in one eye. Then a variety of flowers.
Troll in the Garden. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.
Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.
Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.
Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.
Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.
Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.
Daily Power Use (48.4 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (35.0 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of clouds today, especially in the afternoon so I used more power than was generated.
After the morning rain, a Monarch Butterfly and a Clearwing Hummingbird Moth showed up in my wildflower bed next to the house. There also were a lot of Bumble Bees working the flowers. Up on the patio, the Caterpillar was still eating my Dill herb. The Tomato Hornworm covered with the predatory wasp cocoons was still hanging on. A Stink Bug was feasting on a green tomato — I knew they were vegetarian, but don’t want them eating my vegetables. Finally, a weird-looking spider (Darth Vader, or out of Aliens) was guarding its web.
Bumble Bee on a Red Zinnia Flower. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)Caterpiller Eating My Dill. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)Tomato Hornworm covered by Parasitic Wasp Cocoons. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)Stink Bug eating My Tomatoes. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Individual images from the slide shows can be viewed here.
