Red-bellied Woodpecker - David Mathre Photography

Monday (07-February-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, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Black-capped Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco, Song Sparrow. A few birds returned.

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

AeroGarden Hydroponic Updates. The Bok Choi in AeroGarden Bounty-01 at Day 22 continues grow fast. I’ve started harvesting the largest leaves. The plants are drinking lots of water and going through the liquid fertilizer. In Bounty-02 the Rouge d’Hiver and Black-seeded Simpson lettuce are growing well, along with the Genovese Basil and Dill. One Thai Basil is growing, the other one remains small. In Bounty-03 the two transplanted 22-day Genovese Basil and Dill are doing well. The other 13-day herbs only the Parsley and Chives have sprouted. Bounty-04 with the seed sprouting tray at day 13 has more seedlings: Swiss Chard (4/5); Kale (5/5); Collard Greens (5/5); Spinach (1/5); Mustard Greens (5/5); Oregano (5/5); Rosemary (2/5); Tarragon (4/5); Thyme (5/5); Sage (5/5). After taking an image of the seedlings, they were transplanted to Farm-03 and Farm-04 in the basement.

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

Farm-01L, Farm-01R, Farm-02L, Farm-2R, Farm-08L, Farm-08R, Farm-09L, Farm-09R. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (94.6 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (9.2 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Clouds and rain. Deficit of 85.4 kWh.

Friday (04-February-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, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, European Starling, American Robin, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, White-throated Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Common Grackle, Northern Cardinal. A flock of 40+ American Robins and 20+ European Starling invaded the backyard after the rain stopped. Presumably feasting on worms. Later on the American Robins almost completely stripped the Holly Berries from my Holly Tree.

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

Daily Electric Energy Used (78.1 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (4.4 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Cloudy, snow then rain. Deficit of 73.7 kWh.

Sunday (30-January-2022) — New Jersey

Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day on a snowy day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, White-throated Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Northern Cardinal. A whole flock (~100) of the Red-winged Blackbirds descended on the patio and birdfeeders.

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

Flock of Red-winged Blackbirds. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

AeroGarden Hydroponic Updates. The Bok Choi in AeroGarden Bounty-01 continues to be the fastest grower (although one plant seems to be a runt). In Bounty-02 the Rouge d’Hiver and Black-seeded Simpson lettuce are growing well, along with the Genovese Basil and Dill. One Thai Basil is growing, the other one remains small. In Bounty-0 the two transplanted 14-day Genovese Basil and Dill are doing well. The other 6-day herbs have not sprouted yet. Bounty-04 with the seed sprouting tray at day 6 has some seeds sprouting: Swiss Chard (0/5); Kale (5/5); Collard Greens (5/5); Spinach (0/5); Mustard Greens (4/5); Oregano (1/5); Rosemary (0/5); Tarragon (2/5); Thyme (5/5); Sage (3/5). About half of the poppy seedling in Farm-09R were moved to Farm-08L, Farm-08R, and Farm-09L.

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

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

Found another Stink Bug nibbling on the Bok Choi seedlings. Also, a Lady Beetle. I’m not sure if the Lady Beetle was also nibbling on the leaf, or looking for Aphids.

Stink Bug. (David J Mathre) — Caught another Stink Bug feeding on a Bok Choi seedling. Image taken with a Leica TL2 camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens. (David J Mathre)

Lady Beetle on a Bok Choi leaf. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (127.2 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (0.0 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. The solar panels still covered with snow. The supplemental resistance heating kicked on at night as the outdoor temperature dropped below 10°F. Deficit of 127.2 kWh.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (770 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (143 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Deficit of 627 kWh.

Saturday (29-January-2022) — New Jersey

Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

When I woke up 6+ inches of snow already fell during the night. An additional 2 inches fell during the day. The snow finally stopped by 15:00. During the night, a fox was sighted by the infrared video camera off the patio.

Snow Covered Trolls (David J Mathre) — Sixteen Trolls Covered with Snow. Image taken with a Leica Q2 monochrome camera and 28 mm f/1.7 lens (ISO 100, 28 mm, f/4, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)

Birds of the day on a snowy day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, White-throated Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal.

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

Videos using the Snow Blower, and Red Rover to clear snow from the driveway. The tensioning spring for the PTO belt on the Snow Blower was loose. It was pretty hard to get it back on when the temperature was below 20°F. I needed to use a crow bar to push the belt wheel back far enough to attach the spring.

Daily Electric Energy Used (113.6 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (0.0 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. The solar panels were covered with 8+ inches of snow. The suplemental resistance heating kicked on at night as the outdoor temperature dropped below 10°F. Deficit of 113.6 kWh.

Friday (28-January-2022) — New Jersey

Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day on a snowy day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, American Robin, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal.

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

Daily Electric Energy Used (102.7 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (9.8 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Snow and Rain. Deficit of 92.9 kWh.