Monday (18-July-2022) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed in my backyard: Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Gray Catbird, American Goldfinch, Northern Cardinal.


Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (84.0 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (46.9 kWh) from Sense. Sun and clouds. Deficit of 37.1 kWh.

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Sunday (12-June-2022) — New Jersey

Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed in the backyard: Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, Gray Catbird, House Finch, Chipping Sparrow, Northern Cardinal.


Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (56.4 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (27.2 kWh) from Sense. Clouds and rain. Deficit of 29.2 kWh.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (456 kWh) from Sense. Weekly Solar Electric Energy Produced (436 kWh) from Sense. Deficit of 20 kWh.

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Saturday (29-January-2022) — New Jersey

Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

When I woke up 6+ inches of snow already fell during the night. An additional 2 inches fell during the day. The snow finally stopped by 15:00. During the night, a fox was sighted by the infrared video camera off the patio.

Snow Covered Trolls (David J Mathre)
Sixteen Trolls Covered with Snow. Image taken with a Leica Q2 monochrome camera and 28 mm f/1.7 lens (ISO 100, 28 mm, f/4, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)
Snow Covered Trolls. (David J Mathre)
Backyard Panorama with 18 Trolls Covered with Snow. Composite of seven images taken with a Leica Q2 monochrome camera and 28 mm f/1.7 lens (ISO 100, 28 mm, f/4.5, 1/200 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro. The new Panorama feature within Capture One Pro didn’t work with this set of images, so the panorama was generated with AutoPano Giga (David J Mathre)

Birds of the day on a snowy day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, White-throated Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal.


Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Videos using the Snow Blower, and Red Rover to clear snow from the driveway. The tensioning spring for the PTO belt on the Snow Blower was loose. It was pretty hard to get it back on when the temperature was below 20°F. I needed to use a crow bar to push the belt wheel back far enough to attach the spring.

Daily Electric Energy Used (113.6 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (0.0 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. The solar panels were covered with 8+ inches of snow. The suplemental resistance heating kicked on at night as the outdoor temperature dropped below 10°F. Deficit of 113.6 kWh.

Monday (13-December-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Colorful Clouds at Dawn. Composite of eleven images taken with a Leica CL camera. Images were processed with Capture One Pro 22, including the panorama stitching. This is a new feature in the just released update to Capture One Pro. Previously, I would have stitched the images with AutoPano Giga (a program no longer supported) or PTGui. The stitched image size is 16309 x 5365 pixels. At 300 dpi, the print would be 54.4″ x 17.9″.

Colorful Clouds at Dawn. (David J Mathre)
Colorful Clouds at Dawn. Composite of three images taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens (ISO 800, 23 mm, f/8, 1/30 sec). Images processed with Capture One Pro 22. (David J Mathre)

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Blue Jay, Carolina Wren, Northern Mockingbird, House Sparrow, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal. I think this is the first time I have observed a House Sparrow at my house.


Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (60.2 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (31.6 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Mostly sunny. Geothermal HVAC heating the house. Deficit of 28.6 kWh.

Sunday (24-October-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, House Finch.


Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (38.6 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (20.5 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Cloudy most of the day. Deficit of 18.1 kWh.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (287 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (190 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Deficit of 97 kWh.