Purple Crocus - David Mathre Photography

Thursday (10-March-2022) — New Jersey

Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed in the backyard, at the birdfeeder and on the patio: Black Vulture, Downy Woodpecker, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Dark-eyed Junco, Song Sparrow.

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

Indoor hydroponic California Poppy flowers. Pink/White and Orange/Red. Time-lapse Video of Yellow and Red California Poppy Flowers. Images taken every one minute using a Leica SL2s camera and Laowa 24 mm f/14 macro probe lens.

California Poppy Flowers. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Outdoor early wildflowers after an early morning rainstorm: Purple Crocus, Yellow Daffodil. Images taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens.

Purple Crocus and Daffodil Flowers. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (83.7 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (50.4 kWh) from Sense. Sunny with some clouds. Deficit of 33.3 kWh. I should note that the Solar monitoring from SolSystem via Locus Energy stopped working since the Locus LG-120 meter uses 3G cellular to connect. ATT has turned off 3G cellular.

Monday (07-March-2022) — New Jersey

Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed in the backyard, at the birdfeeder and on the patio: Mourning Dove, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Cardinal.

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

Indoor Hydroponic Updates. Bounty-01 (Day 15). Bok Choi doing well. Bounty-02 (Day 50) The Black-seeded Simpson and Rouge d’Hiver lettuce doing well. Harvesting leaves every other day. The Genovese Basil is doing well. I’ve needed to top off the water every day and add fertilizer every other day. Bounty-03 (Day 42). Dill and Genovese Basil doing well. The Italian and Curly Parsley starting to get bigger. Bounty-04 (Day 15): Basil seedlings transplanted from Farm 09R. A1: Dark Opal; A2: Cinnamon; A3: Genovese; B1: Holy; B2: Italian Large Leaf; B3: Lemon; B4: Lime; C1: Sweet; C2: Thai. I have to check the Bok Choi every day for Stink Bugs.

Bounty-01, Bounty-02, Bounty-03, Bounty-04. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Stink Bug. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

AeroGarden Farm-01L (Day 49). California Poppy, Oriental Poppy, Lauren’s Grape Poppy. AeroGarden Farm-01R (Day 42). Hungarian Bread Seed Poppy, Red Poppy, Turkish Tulip Poppy. AeroGarden Farm-02L (Day 49). Somn Blend Poppy, Red Poppy Red Poppy, Red Mix Poppy. AeroGarden Farm-02R (Day 42). Oriental Poppy, Hungarian Bread Seed Poppy, Turkish Tulip Poppy, Red Poppy, Red Poppy, Somn Blend Poppy.

Farm-01L, Farm-01R, Farm-02L, Farm-02R. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

AeroGarden Farm-03L and Farm-03R (Day 42). Kale, Collard Greens, Spinach, Mustard Greens. All of the greens are growing fast, and producing large leaves. I am having to harvest the largest leaves to provide light to the smaller plants. AeroGarden Farm-04L and Farm-04R (Day 38). Oregano, Rosemary, Tarragon, Thyme, and Sage.

Farm-03L, Farm-03R, Farm-04L, Farm-04R. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

AeroGarden Farm-05L Day 15. (A1, A2, A3): Dark Opal Basil; (B1, B2, B3); Cinnamon Basil; (C1, C2, C3) Genovese Basil; (D1, D2, D3): Holy Basil. AeroGarden Farm-05R Day 15. (A1, A2, A3): Italian Large Leaf Basil; (B1, B2, B3); Lemmon Basil; (C1, C2, C3) Lime Basil; (D1, D2, D3): Sweet Basil. AeroGarden Farm-06L (Day 33). Snapdragon (A1); Chrysanthemum (A2, A3); Iceland Poppy (B1, B2); Sweet William (B3), Columbine (C1, C2, C3); Osteospermum (D1, D2); Blue Daisy (D3). AeroGarden Farm-06R (Day 15). Various types of lettuce. Red Sails (A1, A2, A3, B3); Deer Tongue (B1, B2); Black-seeded Simpson (C1, C2); Rouge d’Hiver (C3, D3); Paris Island (D1, D2). AeroGarden Farm-07L (Day 15/27). Golden Harvest Tomatoes. AeroGarden Farm-0R (Day 15/27). Heirloom Red Tomatoes.

Farm-05L, Farm-05R, Farm-06L, Farm-06R, Farm-07L, Farm-07R. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

AeroGarden Farm-08 (Day 49). California Poppy, Oriental Poppy, Lauren’s Grape Poppy. The odd plant is Celosia. More California Poppy flowers have opened. Now a mix of light yellow and red-orange. AeroGarden Farm-08R (Day 49). Hungarian Bread Seed Poppy, Red Poppy, Turkish Tulip Poppy. AeroGarden Farm-09L (Day 45). Somn Blend Poppy, Red Poppy Red Poppy, Red Mix Poppy. AeroGarden Farm-09R Seed Starter (Day 15). Nine different Basil varieties. Row A: Dark Opal Basil (6/9). Row B: Cinnamon Basil (9/9). Row C: Genovese Basil (8/10). Row D: Holy Basil (8/11). Row E: Italian Large Leaf Basil (8/8). Row F: Lemon Basil (9/10). Row G: Lime Basil (10/11). Row H. Sweet Basil (9/9). Row I: Thai Basil (6/8).

Farm-08L, Farm-08R, Farm-09L, Farm-09R. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Outdoors, the Purple Crocus across the street have started blooming. I also noticed Honey Bees working the flowers.

Purple Crocus Flowers. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Honey Bees
working the Purple Crocus Flowers. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Finally, some spiders. Outdoors, and indoors (on a poppy leaf). There was news about a new invasive Joro spider (native to Japan) that may provide population control for the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug. Not sure I want a 3 inch spider in the house…

Spiders. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (64.2 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (33.4 kWh) from Sense. Sun and Clouds. Deficit of 30.8 kWh. I should note that the Solar monitoring from SolSystem via Locus Energy stopped working since the Locus LG-120 meter uses 3G cellular to connect. ATT has turned off 3G cellular.

Wednesday (02-March-2022) — New Jersey

Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed in the backyard, at the birdfeeder and on the patio: Mourning Dove, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, European Starling, Eastern Bluebird, Dark-eyed Junco, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal.

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

I noticed the Purple Crocus starting to bloom across the street. It is not the earliest, but still a sign that spring is coming.

Spring is Coming!. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

One of the indoor Hydroponic Garden California Poppies started to bloom (Day 45). This one is bright Red. Normally, I think of California Poppies as being yellow or orange. The final Bok Choi (Day 46) is ready to harvest.

Indoor Hydroponic Garden. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

The Troll with the Hot Peppers guarding my mailbox. It survived the winter without being hit by the snow plows.

Mailbox Troll. (David J Mathre) — Mailbox Troll with Hot Peppers. Image taken with a Leica SL2 camera and 90-280 mm lens. (David J Mathre)

Daily Electric Energy Used (82.3 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (54.3 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sunny. Deficit of 28.0 kWh.

Monday (29-March-2021) — New Jersey

Springtime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Morning visitors to the patio birdfeeder: Black-capped Chickadee, Carolina Wren, House Finch, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal.

Daily backyard visitors. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Early Springtime Flowers: The Purple Crocuses are almost gone, Daffodils everywhere (and the deer don’t eat them), some Forsythia (that survived the deer). The Tulip plants are getting bigger, but haven’t bloomed yet (deer permitting).

Spring Wildflowers (landscape mode). Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Spring Wildflowers (portrait mode). Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (39.9 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (73.9 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sunny. Geothermal HVAC system was on. A surplus of 33.4 kWh.

Friday (26-March-2021) — New Jersey

Springtime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Evening visitor to the patio birdfeeder: Tufted Titmouse.

Female House Finch. (David J Mathre) — Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor). Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens. (David J Mathre)

Spring Wildflowers: Daffodils and Purple Crocuses

Spring Wildflowers (landscape mode). Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 200 mm f/2 OIS lens and 1.4 x teleconverter. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Spring Wildflowers (portrait mode). Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 200 mm f/2 OIS lens and 1.4 x teleconverter. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (44.4 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (50.2 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sunny. Geothermal HVAC system was off. A surplus of 5.8 kWh. Sense was down part of the day due to power glitch and WiFi/networking issues.