Monarch Butterfly - David Mathre Photography

Sunday (04-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

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.

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Friday (02-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Daily Walkabout. Today with a Nikon D5 camera and 200-500 mm f/4 VR lens. Lots of activity in the wildflower meadows. The Goldfinch are busy chowing down on Sunflower Seeds. Right now there are lots and lots of Sunflowers — different sizes and colors. A small pink wildflower, a Bee Balm flower, and some Blue Larkspur flowers. There were a couple of Bumble bees and a tiny green bee on a Thistle flower. There were more butterflies than I could count. Skippers, Monarchs, and Swallowtails. I need to be careful with the identification of the Swallowtails. There were two sizes of the Tiger Swallowtails, and some of the Black Swallowtails may actually be dark variants of female Tiger Swallowtails.

Goldfinch Eating Sunflower Seeds. Click on the Above image to access the images in the slideshow in my Photoshelter Gallery.

Flowers. Click on the Above image to access the images in the slideshow in my Photoshelter Gallery.

Skipper Butterflies. Click on the Above image to access the images in the slideshow in my Photoshelter Gallery.

Monarch Butterflies. Click on the Above image to access the images in the slideshow in my Photoshelter Gallery.

Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies. Click on the Above image to access the images in the slideshow in my Photoshelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (51.8 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (61.4 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Net Surplus 9.6 kWh.

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Wednesday (31-July-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

I decided to take some cameras out that I haven’t been using much. Looking at the images I can see I need to spend more time using and practicing with theses cameras. Some of the images are not tack sharp. I can’t just use the cameras in auto mode, need to slow down and make sure I have the settings right. The large sunflowers next to the house were up to the roof edge, but got so heavy they bent over. The field of sunflowers in the back wildflower meadow are attracting lots of bees and butterflies.

Sunflowers. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Leica T camera and 60 mm f/2.8 lens. Click on the above image to access the individual images in my Photoshelter Gallery.

Leica TL2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. Click on the above image to access the individual images in my Photoshelter Gallery.

Sunflowers. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Tiger Swallowtail. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (49.7 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (41.1 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Cloudy most of the day so solar energy production was down 32 kWh. A bit cooler so the Geothermal HVAC system didn’t have to work as hard so the overall energy used was down nearly 20 kWh, for a net deficit of 8.6 kWh. The monthly stats for July are electric energy used: 1841 kWh, solar energy generated: 2075 kWh, for a monthly electric energy surplus of 234 kWh.

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Friday (26-July-2019) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Afternoon Walkabout with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens + 1.4x teleconverter. Butterflies (including an amorous pair of Silver-spotted Skipper). And of course both Hummingbird Clearwing and Snowberry Clearwing moths. It is a target rich environment right now in my wildflower meadows.

Monarch butterfly on a Sunflower Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens + 1.4x teleconverter (DAVID J MATHRE)

Monarch butterfly on a Zinnia Flower. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens + 1.4x teleconverter (DAVID J MATHRE)

Pair of amorous Silver-spotted Skipper butterflies Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens + 1.4x teleconverter (DAVID J MATHRE)

Hummingbird Clearwing (Hemaris thysbe) moth. Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.

Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris diffinis) moth. Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (51.4 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (80.7 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Daily surplus of 29.3 kWh.

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Friday (26-July-2019) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Noontime Walkabout with a Nikon D5 camera and 200-500 mm f/5.6 VR lens (using a monopod because of the weight). Birds, Bees, Butterflies (including a pair of Sulphurs mating). And of course Hummingbird Clearwing Moths. The final slideshow is of Hummingbird Clearwing Moths in flight. It is a target rich environment right now in my wildflower meadows.

Goldfinch looking for a Cornflower for lunch. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 200-500 mm f/5.6 VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Pair of Bumblebees on a Sunflower. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 200-500 mm f/5.6 VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Sunflower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Monarch butterfly Zinnia flower. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 200-500 mm f/5.6 VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE) — Monarch butterfly on an orange Zinnia flower. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 200-500 mm f/5.6 VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Pair of Sulphur butterflies mating. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 200-500 mm f/5.6 VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Hummingbird Clearwing (Hemaris thysbe) moth. Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (51.4 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (80.7 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Daily surplus of 29.3 kWh.