Mexican Sunflower - David Mathre Photography

Wednesday (21-September-2022) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Flowers of the day viewed in my backyard: Mexican Sunflower.

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

Now that the “back 40” has been cleared, the pond that has been hidden behind tall brush and weeds is visible. Kermit and his many relatives survived the hot and dry summer.

Kermit the American Bullfrog and his relatives in the back pond. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (66.6 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (46.6 kWh) from Sense. Sunny. Deficit of 20.0 kWh.

Tuesday (20-September-2022) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed in my backyard: Song Sparrow.

Song Sparrow. (David J Mathre) — Song Sparrow. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (David J Mathre)

Flowers of the day viewed in my backyard: Mexican Sunflower, Rose Mallow, Plains Coreopsis, Sunflower, Zinnia.

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

Now that the “back 40” has been cleared, the pond that has been hidden behind tall brush and weeds is visible. Kermit and his many relatives survived the hot and dry summer.

Kermit the American Bullfrog and his relatives in the back pond. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

While out walking in the back yard, I noticed one or two Monarch butterflies feeding on the remaining Zinnia flowers.

Monarch butterfly feeding on Zinnia flowers. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (59.3 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (37.1 kWh) from Sense. Sun and clouds. Deficit of 22.2 kWh.

Saturday (21-September-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Daily walkabout with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 200 mm f/2 OIS lens. Wildflowers, a Tiger Swallowtail and Bumblebee on a Mexican Sunflower, and immature Goldfinch working the sunflowers.

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

Yesterday Electric Energy Used (53.7 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (52.6 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More sun and cooler. The Geothermal HVAC was off. Server backup and new hydroponic garden online. Overall a net deficit of 1.1 kWh.

Daily Electric Energy Used (66.0 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (51.3 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Warmer out so the Geothermal HVAC was back on (5.2 kWh), Using more electricity while running server backups, laundry (3.7 kWh) and new hydroponic garden. Overall a net deficit of 14.7 kWh.

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Saturday (31-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Daily walkabout with a Nikon D810a camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. Mexican Sunflower, Butterflies (Painted Lady, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, and Spicebush Swallowtail), and Hummingbird Clearwing (white legs) Moth on a Lemon Mint Flower. Note, I previously thought that these were Bee Balm Flowers.

Mexican Sunflower. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Painted Lady Butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

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

Hummingbird Clearwing moth on a Lemon Mint flower. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (54.3 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (64.4 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. One laundry load (3.0 kWh) and two dishwasher loads (~5 kWh). Still a net surplus of 10.1 kWh.

Monthly electric energy used (1664 kWh) and solar electric energy produced (1764 kWh) for a net surplus of 100 kWh.

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Monday (19-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Daily Walkabout, today with a Nikon Df camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. The thing I like about this camera is that it light for a DSLR, and has the same full-frame 35 mm sensor as the Nikon D4 camera. I have to admit that the camera failed on me once while in Antarctica when the shutter failed. The 70-300 mm lens is also relatively light. This post is about the flowers. Sunflowers, Zinnia, Black-eyed Susan, Gloriosa Daisy. The red flower I couldn’t identify yesterday appears to be a Mexican Sunflower.

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

Daily Electric Energy Used (66.1 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (65.5 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Fewer clouds and more sun. The WaterFurnace geothermal HVAC had to work harder (25.6 kWh) because the temperature outside went above 90°F. Daily net deficit 0.6 kWh.

One note — the WaterFurnace Symphony software indicated the system used 16 kWh, however the Sense Energy monitor indicated that the geothermal heat pump used 25.6 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.