Tag: Common Grackle

Sunday (12-December-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Mourning Dove, Northern Flicker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, European Starling, American Robin, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, Common Grackle, Northern Cardinal.


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

Night sky and star trails using a Leica Q2 Monochrome camera. One limitation is the camera takes a 2nd blank (shutter closed) exposure to subtract out sensor noise anytime the exposure is > 4 seconds or the ISO is > 100. With other cameras from Nikon and Fuji, I am able to turn the long exposure noise reduction off, Also, when taking an interval collecting both DNG and JPG the camera stops collecting images after 5 minutes (60 exposures). When recording DNG images, the camera collects 50 minutes (600 exposures). Images were processed with Capture One Pro, and the star trails created using PhotoShop (statistics, maximum).

Star Trails. (David J Mathre)
Moon and Star Trails. Composite of 60 images taken with a Leica Q2 Monochrome camera and 28 mm f/1.7 lens (ISO 100, 28 mm, f/2, 4 seconds). (David J Mathre)
Startrails. (David J Mathre)
Moon, Star, and Jet Trails. Composite of 600 images taken with a Leica Q2 Monochrome camera and 28 mm f/1.7 lens (ISO 100, 28 mm, f/2, 4 seconds). (David J Mathre)

Daily Electric Energy Used (53.7 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (30.6 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Mostly sunny. Geothermal HVAC heating the house. Deficit of 23.1 kWh.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (400 kWh) from Sense. Weekly Solar Electric Energy Produced (128 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Geothermal HVAC heating the house. Deficit of 272 kWh.

Thursday (18-November-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Day Nature and Working Outside and in the Garage in New Jersey.

Full moon before the lunar eclipse. Unfortunately, a rain storm came through while the eclipse took place.

Full Moon. (David J Mathre)
Full Moon, before the lunar eclipse. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (David J Mathre)

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


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

My Little Planet time-lapse videos for the day. 1) Red Rover. Moving items, switching from the front loader to forks, adding additional support to the pallets being used to support the tractor implements. 2) Tent Box. Starting to install the inner cold weather lining in the tent box. It got dark before I could finish.

Daily Electric Energy Used (41.7 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (25.7 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Mostly sunny. Deficit of 16.0 kWh.

Wednesday (17-November-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature and Day Working Outside and in the Garage in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, House Finch, Common Grackle.


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

My Little Planet time-lapse videos for the day. 1) I cut the remaining Canna Lily plants and moved the soft pots into the garage to store them for the winter. I also decided to do the same for the soft pots containing the Gladiolus (probably too far north/cold for the Gladiolus corms to survive in the soft pots outdoors). I know it is an experiment to keep them in the soft pots. Only time will tell. 2) I covered the black mulch pile with a tarp before it rains on Thursday. Then attached the leaf vacuum to the JD lawn tractor and started to pick up some more autumn leaves in the front yard. I had to use a tie-down strap to hold the top of the leaf vacuum on straight. Unfortunately, I managed to snag a section of the ground fabric next to the fence locking up the mower blades. Then had a problem removing the mower deck from the lawn tractor. I know that I have removed it before, but one of the pins wouldn’t budge. ARRG!!! To be continued…

Daily Electric Energy Used (55.6 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (25.7 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Mostly sunny. The sun is lower, and the Sycamore tree sill has leaves blocking the solar panels. Getting colder outside so the Geothermal HVAC is heating the house. Deficit of 29.9 kWh.

Thursday (02-September-2021) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, Common Grackle.


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

Daily Electric Energy Used (63.7 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (64.0 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. The sun returned. A surplus of 0.3 kWh.

Wednesday (01-September-2021) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Blue Jay, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Common Grackle.


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

Flowers of the day: Black-eyed Susan, California Poppy, Canna, Chicory, Cosmos, Echinacea, Gladiolus, Marigold, Partridge Pea, Rose Mallow, Sunflower and Zinnia.


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

Daily Electric Energy Used (51.7 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (8.6kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Heavy rain (post Hurricane Ida). A deficit of 43.1 kWh.