Leaf Vacuum - David Mathre Photography

Sunday (05-December-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: The birds seem to have been missing today. I don’t know if there is a hawk in the area.

Time-lapse videos. Maybe the last leaf vacuum run this year on Red Rover. (1) Little Planet view. (2) Equirectangular view.

Daily Electric Energy Used (60.5 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (20.4 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sun and clouds. Geothermal HVAC heating the house. Deficit of 40.1 kWh.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (430 kWh) from Sense. weekly Solar Electric Energy Produced (151 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Geothermal HVAC heating the house. Deficit of 279 kWh.

Wednesday (01-December-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco.

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

Little Planet Time-lapse Videos. Red Rover using leaf vacuum and moving some black mulch. Last week I was not able to complete the autumn annual leaf cleanup with the John Deere mower and DR Power leaf vacuum. I attached a leaf vacuum adapter to Red Rover’s mower deck, but the 8″ diameter flexible hose to connect the mower deck adapter to the leaf vacuum was too short. I ordered an 8″ x 8′ flexible hose from McMaster Sunday night, and it was delivered Monday evening. I attached the new hose — it was just barely long enough. Once attached, I did the leaf cleanup. It took some adjustments getting the mower deck height on Red Rover right. I wanted to collect the leaves without cutting too much grass. I had to stop a couple of times to clear the vacuum hose plugged with leaves and grass clippings. When the leaf collection bag was full, I dumped the leaves in a temporary mulch heap. The cart was too full (and too heavy to dump by myself), but this time I remembered I could pull the long hinge pin and remove the collection bag cover and dump the contents. A lot easier than having to use Red Rover with the front forks. For the second time-lapse video, I moved some more of the black mulch, and finished the leaf collection. Most of the trees have dumped all of their leaves, so probably only need to do one more collection when the Sycamore tree drops the last of the leaves.

Daily Electric Energy Used (63.6 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (29.8 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sunny. Geothermal HVAC heating the house. Deficit of 33.8 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.

Tuesday (16-November-2021) — New Jersey

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

Trolls planning to spend the night protecting the large autumn mushrooms before more gets eaten by the Leopard Slugs, Squirrels, and Field Mice. Also, a troll using a large mushroom to practice ski jumping before the Olympics.

Trolls Protecting the Autumn Mushroom Crop. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, House Finch.

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

My Little Planet time-lapse video for the day. Assembling more wire shelving units. They will be used to store the Soft Pots containing Canna and Gladiolus tubers in the garage for the winter. Using the DR Power leaf vac to clear the fallen autumn leaves in the back and east side yard. This time I emptied the trailer before it was full and too heavy to tip. Removing the backhoe and installing the trailer hitch on Red Rover. Then attaching the trailer and moving 12 Soft Pots with Canna tubers to the storage shelves in the garage.

Daily Electric Energy Used (57.4 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (26.8 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 30.6 kWh.

Sunday (08-December-2019) — New Jersey

Autumn Yard Work

One final pass to vacuum up the fall leaves before some heavy rain. Little Planet 360 degree time-lapse video.

Daily Electric Energy Used (90.1 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (32.1 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Overall a net deficit of 58.0 kWh.