Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.
Something other than just flowers and wildflowers today. I saw my first Clearwing Hummingbird Moth this year feeding on some small blue Forget-me-not flowers. One of my photography mentors once told me that the best image is behind you — so when I turned around I saw my first Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly this year feeding on an orange Zinnia flower. I may not have had the best camera or lens for these subjects, but as someone else said “the best camera is the one in your hand”. I’d been waiting for both the Clearwing Hummingbird Moth and the Swallowtail Butterflies since planting the wildflower meadows earlier this spring. Later in the evening, while sitting on the back patio I saw a real hummingbird and caught a couple of pictures before it flew off. I will be watching for all three the rest of the summer, and will also be on the lookout for the Monarch Butterflies.
Daily Power Use (56.5 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (50.14 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. It was cloudy out much of the day, so I generated less power than the geothermal HVAC system needed to keep the house cool.
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