Tuesday (07-January-2025) — New Jersey

Nine-Years Ago Today. Sunset from the deck of the MV World Odyssey. Semester at Sea. (07-Jan-2016, Pacific Ocean)

Animal Tracks in the Snow

We had a couple of inches of snow yesterday. This morning, I went on a walkabout looking for animal tracks in the snow. I found bird, cat, fox, and rabbit tracks. I was especially interested in finding where the gaps in the deer fence were. In the past some of the larger critters (raccoons and possums) have enlarged these holes to the point where the deer finally got through. In those spots I needed to install a bottom section of plastic-coated wire fence to close the gaps. First a video of where a neighborhood cat gets under the front gate. She has used this as a way to escape being chased by a fox.

Cat tracks in the snow where it gets under the front gate. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lens
Cat tracks in the snow where it gets under the front gate. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lens
Cat tracks in the snow. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lens
Cat tracks in the snow. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lens
Rabbit tracks in the snow. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lens
Rabbit tracks in the snow. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lens
Fox tracks in the snow attempting to cross the pond.. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lens
Fox tracks in the snow attempting to cross the pond. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lens
Field mouse tunnel/tracks in the snow. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lens
Field mouse tunnel/tracks in the snow. Image taken with a Hasselblad X2d camera and 38 mm f/2.5 lens

Animal Tracks in the Snow. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Animal tracks in the snow used to identify holes in the fence. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Night Sky, Moon, Star Trails, Jet Trails, and Meteor Trails over New Jersey

The night sky started cloud free. I wanted to have the telescopes out but wasn’t really sure how long the sky would remain clear. I set up a Nikon Z9 camera with a 8-15 mm fisheye lens pointed SSE to monitor the sky. Settings for the camera were 15 mm, ISO 800, f/11, and 120 second exposures using the intervalometer with a 4 second delay between exposures. Composites were created using PhotoShop (scripts, statistics, maximum). First image, the sky was relatively clear for the Vespera Pro telescopes to observe the moon. Second image, an 8-minute segment with a meteor trail. Third image, the sky was relatively clear for the Vespera Pro telescopes to observe M42, the Orion nebula. Fourth image, the full night showing lots of clouds passing. I’ve also included a slideshow with 28-minute star trail segments for the night. At the end there is time-lapse video of the night sky.

Winter Night Sky Star Trails Over New Jersey. Composite of images taken with a Nikon Z9 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens.
Winter Night Sky Star Trails Over New Jersey. Composite of images taken with a Nikon Z9 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens.
Winter Night Sky Star Trails (with a meteor trail) Over New Jersey. Composite of images taken with a Nikon Z9 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens.
Winter Night Sky Star Trails (with a meteor trail) Over New Jersey. Composite of images taken with a Nikon Z9 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens.
Winter Night Sky Star Trails Over New Jersey. Composite of images taken with a Nikon Z9 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens.
Winter Night Sky Star Trails Over New Jersey. Composite of images taken with a Nikon Z9 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens.
Winter Night Sky Star Trails Over New Jersey. Composite of images taken with a Nikon Z9 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens.
Winter Night Sky Star Trails Over New Jersey. Composite of images taken with a Nikon Z9 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens.

Star trails slideshow. Individual images are available in my PhotoShelter gallery.

Sunday (26-December-2021) — New Jersey

Wintertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Fox with a rabbit?

Daily Electric Energy Used (49.1 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (31.3 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sunny. Deficit of 17.8 kWh.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (481 kWh) from Sense. Weekly Solar Electric Energy Produced (168 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Deficit of 313 kWh.

Thursday (23-December-2021) — New Jersey

Wintertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Blue Jay, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, Song Sparrow.


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

Fox on the patio (leaving a present).

Day 2 of the Tree Project. Several time-lapse videos of the work.


Hamlet Tree Service. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (74.6 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (31.6 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sunny. Geothermal HVAC heating the house, much of the day stage 2 since it is cold outside. Deficit of 43.0 kWh.

Sunday (19-December-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature 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, American Robin, House Finch, White-throated Sparrow.


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

Fox checking out the patio.

Daily Electric Energy Used (68.8 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (14.7kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Cloudy and light rain. Geothermal HVAC heating the house. Deficit of 54.1 kWh.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (403 kWh) from Sense. Weekly Solar Electric Energy Produced (156 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Geothermal HVAC heating the house. Deficit of 247 kWh.

Tuesday (14-December-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, European Starling, Northern Mockingbird, House Sparrow, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco. I think this is the first time I have observed a House Sparrow at my house.


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

Nervous fox checking out the patio. Hope it finds some of the rats.

Daily Electric Energy Used (53.0 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (31.3 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Mostly sunny. Geothermal HVAC heating the house. Deficit of 21.7 kWh.