Deer - David Mathre Photography

Saturday (24-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

It was much cooler, so I spent the morning catching up on yard work. The electric fence (not charged yet) is already helping the Forsythia and Lilac shrubs we planted earlier this spring. They have new leaves that the deer haven’t nibbled. I am in the process of installing a drip hose to water both these shrubs and the daffodil patch (using rainwater collected in barrels). The grass hadn’t been mowed in two weeks, so that also had to be done. Also lots of mile-a-minute vine weeds needed to be pulled. The walkway from the front to the patio was overgrown with tall Cosmos and Sunflowers that needed to be trimmed back. Time-lapse video recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera and the video processed with Photoshop CC (including the Little Planet view).

After the yard work I did my daily walkabout with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. The deer wondered why I mowed their lawn. In addition to the last week being hot, we only got 0.42 inches of rain. The water level in the pond is way down. Kermit the Bullfrog was only partially submerged in the middle of the pond in a section that is normally a couple feet deep. I only saw one Hummingbird Clearwing moth (white legs) feeding on a Bee Balm flower. The only recent new flower is a bright red Indian Paintbrush. Finally a beat up Monarch butterfly.

Fawn and Doe. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)

Kermit the Bullfrog in the Pond. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/200 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)

Hummingbird Clearwing moth feeding on a Bee Balm flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)

Indian Paintbrush Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)

Monarch Butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (48.2 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (71.9 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Cooler outside and the sun was out most of the day for a net surplus of 23.7 kWh. Laundry used 3.7 kWh.

One note — the WaterFurnace Symphony software indicated the system used 3 kWh, however the Sense Energy monitor indicated that the geothermal heat pump used 5.4 kWh. I tend to believe the Sense numbers since they more closely the energy being recorded at the external power company (PSE&G) meters. I’ve asked the WaterFurnace folks in the past about the discrepancy, but they didn’t have a good answer. The Sense folks told me they thought that the WaterFurnace/Symphony system was only measuring one phase of the energy even though the system is powered by the 220V circuit (using two phases). I wish an electrical engineer that understands this better would correct me here.

Current Weather Conditions

powered by Ambient Weather

Thursday (22-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Daily Walkabout, today with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. My favorite lightweight kit, with plenty of reach. The Snowberry Clearwing Moths (with the black legs) are back. They also like the Bee Balm flowers. Monarch Butterfly feeding on a Marigold flower, and Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on a Zinnia flower. There has been rain all around us, but not here. The pond level is down, and the frogs are skittish. A small sparrow (LBJ) and a fawn trying to hide behind some grass.

Snowberry Clearwing Moth feeding on a Bee Balm flower. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Monarch butterfly feeding on a Marigold flower. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly feeding on a Zinnia flower. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Kermit the Bullfrog. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Little Sparrow. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Fawn Hiding Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (59.7 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (61.3 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. The WaterFurnace geothermal HVAC had to work hard (25 kWh) because the temperature outside went above 90°F. A bit more sun so a net surplus of 0.6 kWh. Cooler weather expected tomorrow!

One note — the WaterFurnace Symphony software indicated the system used 15 kWh, however the Sense Energy monitor indicated that the geothermal heat pump used 25 kWh. I tend to believe the Sense numbers since they more closely the energy being recorded at the external power company (PSE&G) meters. I’ve asked the WaterFurnace folks in the past about the discrepancy, but they didn’t have a good answer. The Sense folks told me they thought that the WaterFurnace/Symphony system was only measuring one phase of the energy even though the system is powered by the 220V circut (using two phases). I wish an electrical engineer that understands this better would correct me here.

Current Weather Conditions

powered by Ambient Weather

Eight-Years Ago (07-August-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature New Jersey.

Young Buck sticking its Tongue out. Note it has “mile-a-minute” vine stuck to its side. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR II lens (ISO 280, 200 mm, f/2.8, 1/200 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6 and Photoshop CS5.

How and when the mile-a-minute vine (invasive weeds) were transported into my yard. Within a few years the vines took over much of my backyard – killing many trees. The vines are more aggressive than the wild grape vines and poison ivy vines. It has taken significant effort to reclaim the yard.

Young Buck. Backyard Nature in my Backyard -- Summer in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR II lens (ISO 280, 200 mm, f/2.8, 1/200 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6 and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Young Buck. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR II lens (ISO 280, 200 mm, f/2.8, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)

Click on the above image to access individual images in the slideshow.

Monday (05-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Two fawns with spots and a doe were out early to eat some grass before I mowed the lawn. It was still pretty dark out, and these images were taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 200 mm f/2 OIS lens at f/2 and 3200 ISO. I didn’t process the images to remove any noise. I did mow the lawn (time-lapse video). After mowing the yard I went out with the Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens and captured images of butterflies (Tiger Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, Silver-spotted Skipper, Common Buckeye, Painted Lady, and Zebulon (?) Skipper); Goldfinch eating both Cosmos and Sunflowers; Some very large Bumble Bees on the Sunflower; Kermit and his brothers Kermit the Bullfrogs (including the one-eyed Kermit); and the Deer protesting after I mowed the lawn.

Deer: Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.

Fawn with Spots "Why are you Mowing the Grass???" . Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE) — Fawn with Spots “Why are you Mowing the Grass???” . Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Butterflies: Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.

Goldfinch: Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.

Bumblebees: Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.

Kermit and his brothers Kermit the Bullfrogs: Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.

Deer: Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.

Daily Electric Energy Used (57.1 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (64.1 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Daily net Surplus 7 kWh. For the week used 399 kWh and produced 441 kWh. Weekly net surplus 42 kWh.

Current Weather Conditions

powered by Ambient Weather

Three-Years Ago (05-August-2016) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

There was a herd of over two dozen deer in my backyard that evening. Then this doe decided to reject a young buck with its new antlers. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens (ISO 800, 200 mm, f/2, 1/160 sec).

Lets Dance. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens (ISO 800, 200 mm, f/2, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre) — Doe Rejecting a Young Buck. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens (ISO 800, 200 mm, f/2, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)