Wednesday (23-February-2022) — New Jersey

Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

No Birds of the day in my backyard today. So I have included one from six-years ago today of a Whiskered Tern at the mouth of the Yangon River in Burma.

Whiskered Tern. (David J Mathre)
Whiskered Tern viewed from the deck of the MV World Odyssey at the mouth of the Yangon river. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec) (David J Mathre)

Daily Electric Energy Used (72.7 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (25.9.0kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sun and clouds but warmer. Deficit of 46.8 kWh.

Two-Years Ago (22-February-2016) — Burma (Myanmar)

Gone to See the World. Semester at Sea Spring 2016 Voyage on the MV World Odyssey. Day 48: Yangon, Burma (Myanmar).

Everyone had to be back on the ship by 22:00. We remained docked in Yangon and didn’t depart until the following day which was a class day. The moon was full (or nearly full) so I had the opportunity to take pictures of folks appearing to be looking at or holding the moon. I stood back some distance, and used a telephoto lens so the size of the moon would appear to be relatively large. What I wasn’t able to do was have both the person and the moon to be in focus, so the images are composites. The low light also required that I increase the ISO to 6400 for the images.



Individual images in the slide show can be viewed here.

Wednesday (18-October-2017) — New Jersey

Backyard Autumn Nature in New Jersey

In addition to the wildflowers, I also planted some seeds for Water Bottle gourds (also known as Calabash, Opo, or Burma Boo Thee). It took nearly a month for the seeds to germinate inside. As such they didn’t get transplanted outdoors as soon as I would have liked. The plants started slow, but the electric fence kept the deer away. Finally, the vines started growing much faster and trying to climb as high as possible. At this point they produced some very big leaves. The first white flowers didn’t produce any fruit. The flowers opened at night, and closed once it got hot the next day. Finally, some of the flowers did develop some green gourds. When they got to be about the size of zucchini, the fruit turned brown and rotted. Finally, I did get a few that didn’t rot. They are not as long as the 40 inch long ones that my parents grew in Florida last year. The vines are still producing white flowers every night, but it is much too late in the season to expect anything larger. Once I turned off the electric fence, the deer came in and started eating the vines. Next year, I will try to germinate the seeds at least a month earlier, and make sure they get transplanted to a warm spot with lots of sunlight.

Fruit from a Water Bottle gourd. Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 11-23 mm zoom lens (ISO 800, 23 mm, f/8, 1/80 sec). (David J Mathre)
Fruit from a Water Bottle gourd. Also known as Calabash, Opo, and in Burma Boo Thee. Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 11-23 mm zoom lens (ISO 800, 23 mm, f/8, 1/80 sec). (David J Mathre)


Monday (22-February-2016) — Burma (Myanmar)

Gone to See the World. Semester at Sea Spring 2016 Voyage on the MV World Odyssey. Day 48: Yangon, Burma (Myanmar).

Holding the moon with the Magician lurking behind. From the aft deck of the MV World Odyssey at dock in the port of Rangoon. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 55-200 mm VR lens (ISO 6400, 55 mm, f/5.6, 1/30 sec).

Viewing the Full Moon from the aft deck of the MV World Odyssey. Composite image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 55-200 mm VR lens (ISO 6400, 200 mm, f/5.6, 1/30 sec) (David J Mathre)
Viewing the Full Moon from the aft deck of the MV World Odyssey. Composite image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 55-200 mm VR lens (ISO 6400, 200 mm, f/5.6, 1/30 sec) (David J Mathre)

Saturday (20-February-2016) — Burma (Myanmar)

Gone to See the World. Semester at Sea Spring 2016 Voyage on the MV World Odyssey. Day 46: Bagan, Burma (Myanmar).

Dawn in Bagan waiting for a Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and Boyer 8 mm fisheye lens (ISO 640, 8 mm, f/2.8, 1/30 sec).

Dawn in Bagan Waiting for a Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and Boyer 8 mm fisheye lens (ISO 640, 8 mm, f/2.8, 1/30 sec). (David J Mathre)
Dawn in Bagan waiting for a Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and Boyer 8 mm fisheye lens (ISO 640, 8 mm, f/2.8, 1/30 sec). (David J Mathre)