Purple Crocus - David Mathre Photography

Monday (17-February-2020) — New Jersey

Outdoor Wintertime Nature in New Jersey. Signs of Spring.

When I woke up this morning, one of the “Images of the Day” that came up on my Echo Show was of a Purple Crocus flower. I went online to check the date, and found that the image was posted eight years ago 17-February-2012. After the sun came up, and it was warmer outside I went searching and found the Purple Crocuses had bloomed overnight. I didn’t see them the day before.

Early Purple Crocus Flower. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 lens + 1.4x TCE (ISO 320, 112 mm, f/8, 1/280 sec). Copyright © 2020 David J. Mathre

Early Purple Crocus Flowers. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 lens + 1.4x TCE (ISO 320, 112 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). Copyright © 2020 David J. Mathre

Daily Electric Energy Used (67.7 kWh) from Sense Home Energy Monitor and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (49.4 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More sun and warmer so the Geothermal HVAC didn’t have to work as hard. Still a deficit of 18.3 kWh.

Current Weather Conditions

Wednesday (17-April-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

There are plants and flowers that the deer don’t like — daffodils, dandelions, purple crocus, wild violets, and Pieris japonica. I have just planted a number of forsythia and lilac bushes. I hope the deer stay away from them. The flowers in the trees (cherry, plum, and maple) are high enough so the deer are not able to reach. The vegetable garden, tulips and other flowers that I need to worry about are behind an electric fence to deter the deer.

Daffodil Bloom. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Dandelion Bloom. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Purple Crocus Bloom. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Wild Violet Blooms. New Jersey State Flower. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Pieris japonica Blooms. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Forsythia Flowers Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Tulip about to Bloom. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Power Use (61.6 kWh) and Solar Production (63.6 kWh) from Sense.

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Tuesday (16-April-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Purple Crocuses and Dandelions are blooming. The crocuses are a bit late, but were only planted a few weeks ago. I stored the bulbs over the winter in the garage where they got enough cold storage so they would bloom this spring. Click on the crocus for more views. The dandelions are native — and the deer ignore them. The slide show examines the impact of depth of field (f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, and f/16). Bjorn is making lots of progress clearing brush and removing the downed tree limbs from the backyard.

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Bjorn clearing brush. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Power Use (55.5 kWh) and Solar Production (79.3 kWh) from Sense.

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One-Year Ago (28-February-2018) — New Jersey

Backyard Winter Nature in New Jersey.

A year ago some early purple crocus flowers started blooming. Not as early as some years, but still early. The daffodils still have a bit to go. This winter cold, rain, and snow that usually only lasts one day. No sign of the crocus flowers yet.

Individual images from the slide shows can be viewed here.

Friday (23-March-2018) — New Jersey

Early Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

I woke up in time to catch some fleeting brightly colored clouds to the east. There was still some snow on the ground. By noon most of the snow was mostly gone (spring flowers). Then by evening, the snow was all gone (young deer).

Colorful Dawn Clouds Composite of three images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/5.6, 1/30 sec). (David J Mathre)

Birdbath Statue. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 60 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 60 mm, f/2.8, 1/2000 sec). (David J Mathre)

Individual images from the slide-show can be viewed here.