Tuesday (24-December-2019) — Florida

Gone to See Florida — 2019 Road Trip.

I arrived in St. Petersburg, Florida before lunchtime. The Chickens in the backyard urban garden loved the Broccoli leaves I brought from my indoor hydroponic AeroGarden Farm. My father pointed out that a bunch of Bananas were resting on top of a bee hive. My mother had some blooming orchids hanging from the Mango trees. She also had strawberry plants and berries in a Grow Tower that had been moved to the upper part of the driveway.

Hens feasting on Broccoli leaves from my indoor hydroponic garden in NJ. Urban garden & farm in St. Petersburg Florida. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 100, 35 mm, f/2.5, 1/250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Hens feasting on Broccoli leaves from my indoor hydroponic garden in NJ. Urban garden & farm in St. Petersburg Florida. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 100, 35 mm, f/2.5, 1/250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Bananas on a Bee Hive. Urban garden & farm in St. Petersburg Florida. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 100, 35 mm, f/2.8, 1/320 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Bananas on a Bee Hive. Urban garden & farm in St. Petersburg Florida. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 100, 35 mm, f/2.8, 1/320 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Orchid Flowers in the air. Urban garden & farm in St. Petersburg Florida. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 100, 35 mm, f/1.4, 1/100 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Orchid Flowers in the air. Urban garden & farm in St. Petersburg Florida. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 100, 35 mm, f/1.4, 1/100 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Strawberry Plants and Berries in a Grow Tower. Urban garden & farm in St. Petersburg Florida. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/2.2 lens (ISO 100, 35 mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Strawberry Plants and Berries in a Grow Tower. Urban garden & farm in St. Petersburg Florida. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/2.2 lens (ISO 100, 35 mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (45.3 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (33.6 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Overall a net deficit of 25.7 kWh. Most of the hydroponic gardens were off or only on for fewer hours. Also, the thermostat for the Geothermal heater and hybrid heat pump hot water heater were set for vacation mode.

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Three-Years Ago (12-January-2016) — Hawaii

Gone to See the World. Semester at Sea Spring 2016 Voyage on the MV World Odyssey. Day 8: Honolulu and O’ahu Hawaii.

The first port on our Spring 2016 Semester at Sea voyage was Hilo in Hawaii. The real reason for the stop was to bunker to take on more fuel before continuing the voyage the rest of the way across the Pacific Ocean to Japan. The MV World Odyssey was only going to be in Hawaii for 14 hours so we were not allowed off the ship unless  with a Semester at Sea organized Field Trip. I originally signed up for the Pearl Harbor Memorial tour, but that trip was canceled. (The last time I was in Honolulu to give a talk at the Pacific Chemistry meeting, the US Government was shut down and the Pearl Harbor Memorial was closed. Same problem today!!!). I switched to the North Shore bus tour. In the 14 hours we had I managed to take over 3000 pictures. First stop was at the Byodo-In Temple. Then stops at some regional parks and beaches. Lunch was at a roadside shrimp shack. The last stop was at the Dole Pineapple Plantation.

Panorama of the Byodo-In Temple in Kaneohe on the island of Oahu. Composite of six images taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 10 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 160, 10 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, and the composite panorama created using Kolor AutoPano Giga Pro. (David J Mathre)
Panorama of the Byodo-In Temple in Kaneohe on the island of Oahu. Composite of six images taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 10 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 160, 10 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, and the composite panorama created using Kolor AutoPano Giga Pro. (David J Mathre)


Litterbugs in paradise -- were they locals or tourists??? Malaekahana State Recreation Area on the north shore of Oahu. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 23 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 23 mm, f/6.4, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)
Litterbugs in paradise — were they locals or tourists??? Malaekahana State Recreation Area on the north shore of Oahu. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 23 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 23 mm, f/6.4, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)


Student being photographed with Mokoli?i (Chinaman's Hat) in the background. Kualoa Regional Park on the north shore of Oahu. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 23 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 23 mm, f/16, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Student being photographed with Mokoli’i (Chinaman’s Hat) in the background. Kualoa Regional Park on the north shore of Oahu. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 23 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 23 mm, f/16, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)


Green Turtle viewing the Sun at Sunset Beach. Image taken with a Nikon N1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 90 mm, f/4.8, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
Green Turtle viewing the Sun at Sunset Beach. Image taken with a Nikon N1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 90 mm, f/4.8, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)


One-Year Ago (12-January-2016) — Hawaii

Gone to See the World. Semester at Sea Spring 2016 Voyage on the MV World Odyssey. Day 8: Honolulu and O’ahu Hawaii.

The first port on our Spring 2016 Semester at Sea voyage was Hilo in Hawaii. The real reason for the stop was to bunker to take on additional fuel before continuing the voyage the rest of the way across the Pacific Ocean to Japan. The MV World Odyssey was only going to be in Hawaii for 14 hours so we were not allowed off the ship unless  with a Semester at Sea organized Field Trip. I originally signed up for the Pearl Harbor Memorial tour, but that trip was canceled. (The last time I was in Honolulu to give a talk at the Pacific Chemistry meeting, the US Government was shut down and the Pearl Harbor Memorial was closed). I switched to the North Shore bus tour. In the 14 hours we had I managed to take over 3000 pictures. First stop was at the Byodo-In Temple. Then stops at some regional parks and beaches. Lunch was at a roadside shrimp shack. The final stop was at the Dole Pineapple Plantation.

Panorama of the Byodo-In Temple in Kaneohe on the island of Oahu. Composite of six images taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 10 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 160, 10 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, and the composite panorama created using Kolor AutoPano Giga Pro. (David J Mathre)
Panorama of the Byodo-In Temple in Kaneohe on the island of Oahu. Composite of six images taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 10 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 160, 10 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, and the composite panorama created using Kolor AutoPano Giga Pro. (David J Mathre)


Litterbugs in paradise -- were they locals or tourists??? Malaekahana State Recreation Area on the north shore of Oahu. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 23 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 23 mm, f/6.4, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)
Litterbugs in paradise — were they locals or tourists??? Malaekahana State Recreation Area on the north shore of Oahu. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 23 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 23 mm, f/6.4, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)


Student being photographed with Mokoli?i (Chinaman's Hat) in the background. Kualoa Regional Park on the north shore of Oahu. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 23 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 23 mm, f/16, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Student being photographed with Mokoli’i (Chinaman’s Hat) in the background. Kualoa Regional Park on the north shore of Oahu. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 23 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 23 mm, f/16, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)


Green Turtle viewing the Sun at Sunset Beach. Image taken with a Nikon N1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 90 mm, f/4.8, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
Green Turtle viewing the Sun at Sunset Beach. Image taken with a Nikon N1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 90 mm, f/4.8, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)