Cloudy, cool, and practically no wind. Hurricane Dorian passed well to the east of the state. During my daily walkabout, I saw a large number (flock?) of Goldfinches feeding on the smaller Sunflowers. A number of the birds must have just fledged, and their parents were feeding them cracked sunflower seeds. Apparently the young birds haven’t figured out how the crack the seeds yet. Another immature Goldfinch appeared to be pecking at the Sunflower stalk for food. Later on I saw an immature Goldfinch appear to be eating Zinnia flower petals
Adult feeding immature Goldfinch Sunflower seed. Image taken with a Nikon 1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)Adult feeding immature Goldfinch Sunflower seed. Image taken with a Nikon 1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slide show.
Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slide show.
Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slide show.
Immature Goldfinch on wire. Image taken with a Nikon 1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Daily Electric Energy Used (36.9 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (14.9 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Very cloudy, and cooler for a net deficit of 22 kWh.
Daily walkabout with a Nikon D5 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens. The smaller Sunflowers have wilted, and are being ravaged by a flock of Goldfinch and another small yellow bird (Philadelphia Vireo?).
Goldfinch. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.
Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.
Daily Electric Energy Used (47.0 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (60.2 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Some clouds but still a net surplus of 13.2 kWh.
Weekly electric energy used (318 kWh) and solar electric energy produced (401 kWh) for a net surplus of 83 kWh.
Daily Walkabout, today with a Leica CL camera and 55-135 mm lens. The thing I like about this camera is that it is lightweight and potentially a great travel camera. Most of the images were taken at 135 mm (field of view equivalent to 200 mm on a 35 mm sensor camera). It doesn’t have all of the bells and whistles of some of my other cameras. I do need to take it out periodically just to maintain the brain and muscle memory to use it effectively. This is the longest zoom lens for the Leica TL and CL cameras. The Goldfinches are all over the smaller Sunflowers. They want the seeds fresh. A lot of butterflies were out working the wildflowers (Painted Lady, Sulphur, a pair of frisky Spicebush Swallowtails, and a pair of Monarch’s mating). The Monarch’s were flying around paired together and I finally caught them resting in a pine tree from a distance. I haven’t seen a hummingbird moth recently. Then some flowers (Backlit Red Sunflower, Bee Balm, a Red flower I haven’t identified yet, Partridge Pea with Pea Pods, a Zinnia, and a pair of small Yellow Sunflowers. Finally, the poisonous Poke Weed berries.
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Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slide show.
Sulphur Butterfly on a Zinnia Flower. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 55-135 mm lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
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Pair of Monarch Butterflies Mating. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 55-135 mm lens (DAVID J MATHRE)Monarch Butterfly. Image. taken with a Leica CL camera and 55-135 mm lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
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Poison Poke Weed Berries Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 55-135 mm lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Daily Electric Energy Used (61.1 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (51.2 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More clouds and bit less Sun. The WaterFurnace geothermal HVAC had to work harder (25.7 kWh) because the temperature outside went above 90°F. Daily net deficit 9.9 kWh. Weekly totals 412 kWh used, 350 kWh produced. So far still ahead for the month of August, but will need some more sunny days
One note — the WaterFurnace Symphony software indicated the system used 14 kWh, however the Sense Energy monitor indicated that the geothermal heat pump used 25.7 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.
Daily Walkabout: I went out with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. By sneaking out the backdoor of the garage I was able to catch a pair of Goldfinch feeding on the Sunflowers before they got spooked and flew away. Then lots of Butterflies (Various Skippers, Monarch, Tiger Swallowtail, Silver-spotted Skipper, Pearl Crescent, Painted Lady, Common Buckeye, and ). I have noticed many of the butterflies have ragged wings. Are they just getting old, or escaped being caught by a bird? It has been several days since I have seen a hummingbird moth.
Click on the above image to access the images in the slideshow.
Click on the above image to access the images in the slideshow.
Daily Electric Energy Used (53.5 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (29.8 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. The sky was cloudy most of the day (0.04 inches of rain) impacted the solar production. Daily net deficit 23.7 kWh.
I haven’t been doing Dawn Panoramas recently since during the summer the sun rises further to the north which is blocked by trees and the house next door. By driving down the hill across from the J&J facility, I have a better view and took this Dawn Panorama this morning. Later on got some images of the Sunflower patch in my Wildflower Meadow.
Dawn Clouds. Composite of three images taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens (ISO 100, 23 mm, f/2.8, 1/160 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Sunflower Patch. Click on the above image to access the slideshow images.
Three Bumble Bees on a Sunflower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)Monarch Butterfly on a Zinnia Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Goldfinch looking for a Sunflower Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 720, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Daily Electric Energy Used (58.9 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (71.6 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Daily net Surplus 12.7 kWh. For the week used 399 kWh and produced 441 kWh. Weekly net surplus 42 kWh.
