Daily walkabout with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens. It was very hot and a bit windy. The wildflower meadow with Marigold flowers was still filled with Monarch, Painted Lady, and Common Buckeye butterflies. The deer don’t like Marigolds. The temperature is supposed to drop forty degrees and rain tomorrow. We will see how many butterflies are still around then. The Monarch butterflies should be leaving for Mexico pretty soon.
Individual images from the slideshows can be viewed here.
Daily Electric Energy Used (65.8 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (41.3 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More sun and very hot outside. The Geothermal HVAC used 14.1 kWh for cooling. The new hydroponic gardens used 8.7 kWh. Overall a net deficit of 24.5 kWh.
Daily walkabout with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens. There must have been a hundred Monarch butterflies feeding in my wildflower meadows today. The Monarch butterflies were feeding on Cosmos, Zinnia, Mexican Sunflower, and Marigold flowers. At least one Monarch butterfly was caught, probably by a Praying Mantis. All that was left were the wings on the ground. The Painted Lady butterflies liked the Marigold and Lemon Mint flowers.
Click on the above image to access my PhotoShelter gallery with the individual images in the following slideshow.
Click on the above image to access my PhotoShelter gallery with the individual images in the following slideshow.
Daily Electric Energy Used (54.3 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (41.6 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More sun in the afternoon and warmer out. The Geothermal HVAC used 6.1 kWh for cooling. The new hydroponic gardens used 8.7 kWh. Overall a net deficit of 12.7 kWh.
Daily Walkabout. My back still hurts and it continues to be hot and humid outside. The high was 93 °F with a heat index of 113 °F according to my personal weather station. I was only out for a short time, but still was able to capture images of Painted Lady, Tiger Swallowtail, and Monarch butterflies. Today only one type of Clearwing moths — the Hummingbird Clearwing (Hemaris thysbe). I saw a large hoverfly on a Sunflower. The hoverflies look like bees. There were also many Bumblebees working the flowers.
Painted Lady butterfly on a Zinnia flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)Painted Lady butterfly on a Zinnia flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Swallowtail Butterflies. Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.
Monarch butterfly on a Zinnia flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Hummingbird Clearwing (Hemaris thysbe). Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.
Hoverfly on a Sunflower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)Hoverfly on a leaf. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)Bumble Bee on a Cosmos Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Daily Power Use (72.5 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (71.5 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Sunny, hot, and humid outside which kept the GeoThermal HVAC system busy (28 kWh). I also did a load of laundry (3.7 kWh) and dishes (~2.5 kWh). Still the Solar Panels almost kept up with only a 1 kWh deficit for the day.
Daily Walkabout. The wildflower meadows I planted spring are now in bloom and attracting lots and lots of bee, bumblebees, butterflies, hummingbird clearwing moths, and birds. Each attracted to different types, and even colors of flowers. Today I went out with a Nikon D850 camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens with a 2.0 TC-E III teleconverter (effective 600 mm f/5.6). Not quite as heavy as the 600 mm f/4, but still heavy. Rather than just hand-holding, I used a mono-pod to help stabilize the setup. I was looking to get higher resolution images. Even in bright sunlight, it was slow to focus (lots of hunting). The new butterfly for the day is some type of Skipper. The Monarch butterflies prefer the red and pink Zinnia flowers (and an Orange Marigold). The Hummingbird Clearwing moths prefer the pink Zinnia flowers. Before there were as many Zinnias, they were also attracted to the pink Cosmos flowers (now ignored).
Skipper? butterfly feeding on a Zinnia flower. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens + 2.0 TC-EIII teleconverter (DAVID J MATHRE)
Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.
Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.
Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.
Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.
Daily Power Use (56.8 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (81.5 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of sun but it is getting warmer outside keeping the Geothermal HVAC busy. Still generated 25 kWh more power that I used for the day. Rain predicted for tomorrow (needed in the wildflower meadow) and even hotter for the weekend.
A Painted Lady butterfly on a yellow flower in my garden. I also saw a Monarch butterfly, but it didn’t stay still long enough to have its picture taken.
Painted Lady Butterfly on a Yellow Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR telephoto zoom lens (ISO 160, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec). (David J Mathre)
