Sunset view of San Francisco and Oakland from the Berkeley Hills.
Sunset view of San Francisco and Oakland from the Berkeley Hills. Composite of 3 images taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 24 mm f/2.8 PC-E lens (ISO 800, 24 mm, f/5, 0.5 sec). (David J Mathre)
Daily Electric Energy Used (43.5 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (18.4 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Cloudy. Geothermal HVAC system turned on to heat the house. Forced air dehydrator on to dry end of season hot peppers. A deficit of 25.1 kWh.
While taking the trash out early in the morning, I noticed the Crescent Moon and Venus shining brightly in the eastern dawn sky.
Crescent Moon and Venus at Dawn. Image taken with a Leica SL2 camera and 24-90 mm lens (ISO 6400, 59 mm, f/3.7, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)
Daily Electric Energy Used (40.1 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (36.6 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. More Sun. Geothermal HVAC system off. A deficit of 3.5 kWh.
Although it was cloudy much of the day, the sky cleared early in the evening. Waxing Gibbous Moon, image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 200-500 mm f/5.6 lens (hand-held).
Waxing Gibbous Moon. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 200-500 mm f/5.6 VR lens (ISO 100, 500 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec). (David J Mathre)
Daily Electric Energy Used (48.6 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (31.0 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Cloudy much of the day. A deficit of 17.6 kWh.
It was a busy day. Up very early to see the Waning Gibbous moon. Birds for the day included Mourning Dove, Gray Catbird, House Finch, Brown-headed Cowbird, Indigo Bunting, Chipping Sparrow, American Crow, Northern Cardinal, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. The Indigo Bunting is new here. With all of the rain, the grass is growing fast and needed to be mowed. Afterwards, I took a walkabout and came upon both a Fowler’s Toad, and an American Bullfrog. Lots of early spring flowers including Prunella Vulgaris (also known as Self-Heal, Heal-All, and Woundwort), Jack in the Pulpit, Five-spot, Forget Me Not, Johnny Jump Up, Siberian Wallflower, Crimson Clover, Allium, California Poppy, Flax, Dogwood, and Bethlehem Star (Grass Lily). As a bonus, at the end of the day, I found a White Poppy flower. This is the first regular poppy to bloom outdoors this year. The California Poppies have been blooming for a couple of weeks now.
Waning Gibbous Moon. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 600 mm, f/4, 1/640 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Birds Viewed from my Patio. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Male Indigo Bunting. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 200, 600 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Fowler’s Toad. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Kermit the Bullfrog. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
May Flowers — Portrait Mode. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
May Flowers — Landscape Mode. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
White Poppy. Composite of 100 focus stacked images taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 64, 60 mm, f/4, 1/30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Helicon Focus. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Daily Electric Energy Used (56.1 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (82.5 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of sun. A surplus of 26.4 kWh.
