Sunday (12-July-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day: Blue Jay, Mourning Dove, Northern Cardinal, Gray Catbird, and House Finch.


Backyard Summer Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Now that it is getting hot, the birds are starting to use the birdbath to cool down. Time-lapse video of a Gray Catbird in the birdbath.

While moving the last of the hot pepper plants outdoors, I discovered a batch of very tiny Stink Bugs that just hatched on the back side of a pepper plant leaf. Now I know what to look for so I don’t have as many infesting the house.


Hatchling Stink Bugs . Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (59.4 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (82.2 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Much more sun. A surplus of 22.8 kWh.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (411 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (356 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Lots of cloudy days and a Tropical Storm during the week. A deficit of 55 kWh.


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Saturday (11-July-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day: Blue Jay, Chipping Sparrow, Mourning Dove, House Finch, and Northern Cardinal.


Backyard Summer Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Northern Cardinal. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Northern Cardinal. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (61.9 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (53.9 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. A mixture of clouds and sun. A deficit of 8.0 kWh. With the elevated temperatures outside, the Geothermal HVAC system is working nearly full time to keep the house cool.


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Friday (10-July-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Survived Tropical Storm Fay without any damage. A good amount of rain (3.3 inches, 84 mm), that filled the nearly dry pond. The frogs sounded happy.

Birds of the Day: Red-bellied Woodpecker, Brown-headed Cowbird, Blue Jay, American Goldfinch, Mourning Dove, LBJ, Chipping Sparrow, and Gray Catbird. Can’t tell if the LBJ is a female House Finch, or immature/female Brown-headed Cowbird.


Backyard Summer Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Wildflowers of the Day: Teazel, Black-eyed Susan, Sunflower, Larkspur, Sweet William, and Marigold. This is the first Marigold flower of the season. Last year that section was mainly Marigold with some Bee Balm. This year the section is mainly Bee Balm, Lemon-Mint, Horsemint.


Backyard Summer Wildflowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (47.1 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (8.5 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Lots of clouds and rain. A deficit of 38.6 kWh. At least the solar panels got well washed, and the rain barrels filled.


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Saturday (04-July-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day: Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, American Goldfinch, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Song Sparrow, and Mourning Dove.


Backyard Summer Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Flowers of the Day: Poppies (Red, Pink, Icelandic), Black-eyed Susan, Moth Mullein, Blanket Flower, Larkspur, Foxglove, Spiderwort, Bergamot, Horsemint, Lemon-Mint, Bee Balm, Monarda, Mexican Hat, Teazel


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (61.7 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (60.9 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Mixed clouds and some sun. A deficit of 0.8 kWh. Power glitch in the morning stopped data collection on the Sense Monitor until it was rebooted. The daily numbers are guesstimates.


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Thursday (02-July-2020) — New Jersey

Early Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day: Blue Jay, Mourning Dove, Northern Cardinal, Gray Catbird, and House Finch.


Backyard Summer Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Flowers of the Day: Poppies (Red, Pink, Icelandic), Larkspur, Foxglove, Lance-leaf Coreopsis, Black-eyed Susan, Daisy, Common Mullein, Blanket Flower, Cosmos, Spiderwort, Bergamot, Horsemint, Lemon-Mint, Bee Balm, Monarda, Mexican Hat


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Summertime Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (57.0 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (81.6 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Mixed clouds and some sun. A surplus of 24.6 kWh.


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