Saturday (23-November-2019) — New Jersey

Indoor Hydroponic Flowers.

The first Strawberry flowers have appeared. Since I do not have bees inside the house, I will have to manually pollinate these to get indoor strawberries this winter. Other plants that have bloomed (or are about to bloom) include Plains Coreopsis, Lilliput and Thumbelina Zinnia, Marigold, and Cornflower.

Strawberry Flower. AeroGarden Farm 07 Right. Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 OIS macro lens (ISO 160, 80 mm, f/14, 1/30 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Strawberry Flower. AeroGarden Farm 07 Right. Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 OIS macro lens (ISO 160, 80 mm, f/14, 1/30 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Plains Coreopsis Flower. AeroGarden Farm 04 Left. Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 OIS macro lens (ISO 320, 80 mm, f/11, 1/30 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Plains Coreopsis Flower. AeroGarden Farm 04 Left. Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 OIS macro lens (ISO 320, 80 mm, f/11, 1/30 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Yellow Thumbelina Zinnia Flower. AeroGarden Farm 04 Left. Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 OIS macro lens (ISO 800, 80 mm, f/11, 1/30 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Yellow Thumbelina Zinnia Flower. AeroGarden Farm 04 Left. Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 OIS macro lens (ISO 800, 80 mm, f/11, 1/30 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Pink Lilliput Zinnia Flower. AeroGarden Farm 04 Left. Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 OIS macro lens (ISO 320, 80 mm, f/11, 1/30 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Pink Lilliput Zinnia Flower. AeroGarden Farm 04 Left. Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 OIS macro lens (ISO 320, 80 mm, f/11, 1/30 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Marigold Flower. AeroGarden Farm 04 Left. Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 OIS macro lens (ISO 800, 80 mm, f/11, 1/30 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Marigold Flower. AeroGarden Farm 04 Left. Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 OIS macro lens (ISO 800, 80 mm, f/11, 1/30 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Cornflower Flower Bud. AeroGarden Farm 04 Left. Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 OIS macro lens (ISO 320, 80 mm, f/11, 1/30 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Cornflower Flower Bud. AeroGarden Farm 04 Left. Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 OIS macro lens (ISO 320, 80 mm, f/11, 1/30 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (73.1 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (30.0 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Sunny with some clouds, but cooler outside. Overall a net deficit of 43.1 kWh.

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Monday (28-October-2019) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey

The sun was out in the morning as I went for my daily walkabout with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens with a 1.4x teleconverter. Backlit fall leaves, Praying Mantis egg sacks, late season wildflowers, and the Burma water gourd vine, with small gourds.

Backlit Autumn Japanese Maple Leaves. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens + 1.4x teleconverter (ISO 200, 280 mm, f/2.8, 1/450 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Backlit Autumn Japanese Maple Leaves. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens + 1.4x teleconverter (ISO 200, 280 mm, f/2.8, 1/450 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Backlit Autumn Japanese Maple Leaves. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens + 1.4x teleconverter (ISO 200, 280 mm, f/2.8, 1/400 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Backlit Autumn Japanese Maple Leaves. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens + 1.4x teleconverter (ISO 200, 280 mm, f/2.8, 1/400 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)


Click on the above image to access my PhotoShelter gallery with the individual images in the following slideshow.



Click on the above image to access my PhotoShelter gallery with the individual images in the following slideshow.



Click on the above image to access my PhotoShelter gallery with the individual images in the following slideshow.


Grass. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens + 1.4x teleconverter (DAVID J MATHRE)
Grass. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens + 1.4x teleconverter (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (60.8 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (26.9 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Sun out in the morning, but then cloudy. At this time of the year the sun is lower, and the Sycamore tree leaves shadow the solar panels in the afternoon. Overall a net deficit of 33.9 kWh.

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Friday (18-October-2019) — New Jersey

Indoor Hydroponic AeroGarden “Classic 6” Flower Gardens. Week Two.

At two weeks it was time to add additional plant food, and top off the water for the two “Classic 6” gardens. In the first one, everything but the Dianthus has sprouted. In the second one, everything but one of the Purple Snapdragons has sprouted.

AeroGarden "Clasic 6" Great Room 01 at Day 14. Position 01-02: Celosia (Rainbow Fire); Position 03: Phlox Mix; Position 04: Orange Gazania; Position 05: Yellow Coreopsis; Position 06: Dianthus. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 320, 35 mm, f/8, 1/100 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
AeroGarden “Classic 6” Great Room 01 at Day 14. Position 01-02: Celosia (Rainbow Fire); Position 03: Phlox Mix; Position 04: Orange Gazania; Position 05: Yellow Coreopsis; Position 06: Dianthus. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 320, 35 mm, f/8, 1/100 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
AeroGarden "Clasic 6" Great Room 01 at Day 14. Position 01-02: Celosia (Rainbow Fire); Position 03: Purple Snapdragon; Position 04: Lavender; Position 05: Dianthus; Position 06: Purple Snapdragon. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 320, 35 mm, f/8, 1/100 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
AeroGarden “Clasic 6” Great Room 01 at Day 14. Position 01-02: Celosia (Rainbow Fire); Position 03: Purple Snapdragon; Position 04: Lavender; Position 05: Dianthus; Position 06: Purple Snapdragon. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 320, 35 mm, f/8, 1/100 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (58.5 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (33.8 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. A bit more sun than yesterday, but getting colder. Overall a net deficit of 24.7 kWh. Closing the windows, and switching the Geothermal HVAC on to heat the house.

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Thursday (08-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Daily Walkabout: I went out with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens. Flowers (Poppy, Zinnia, Bee Balm, Larkspur, Sunflowers), Insects (Silver-spotted Skipper, Tiger Swallowtail, Painted Lady, Common Buckeye, Bumblebee, Snowberry Clearwing Moth, Eastern Leaf-footed Bug), and Frogs (Kermit the one-eyed Bullfrog). I didn’t notice the pair of Eastern Leaf-footed Bugs mating on the Thistle flower until processing the images.


Flowers. Click on the above image to access the individual images from the slideshow.



Butterflies, Moths, Bees, and Eastern Leaf-footed Bug. Click on the above image to access the individual images from the slideshow.



Kermit the One-eyed Bullfrog. Click on the above image to access the individual images from the slideshow.


Daily Electric Energy Used (57.5 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (64.9 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Daily net surplus 7.4 kWh.

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Wednesday (07-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Daily Walkabout: I went out with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens. Flowers (Chicory, Zinnia, Cosmos, Sunflowers) and Butterflies (Silver-spotted Skipper, Tiger Swallowtail, Monarch). The last five of the images are of a Female Intermediate Black Tiger Swallowtail.


Flowers. Click on the above image to access the individual images from the slideshow.



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


Daily Electric Energy Used (50.5 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (45.9 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of clouds, rain and thunderstorms during the day. Daily net deficit 4.6 kWh.

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