Five-Years Ago (01-December-2015) — New Jersey

Late Autumn Nature in New Jersey.

While driving home from the grocery store I spotted a red fox at the side of the road helping itself to a venison meal (road kill). I was lucky to have a camera with a telephoto lens in the car with me to capture this shot. There were several turkey vultures wait their turn.  It is good to see the foxes returning, as they were almost completely killed off by rabies twenty years ago (along with the raccoon, opossum, and skunk).

Red fox on the side of the road with a road-killed deer. Late Autumn Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 1000, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
Red fox on the side of the road with a road-killed deer. Late Autumn Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 1000, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)

Daily Electric Energy Used (46.8 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (14.4 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Cloudy, not much sun. Geothermal HVAC system on. A deficit of 32.4 kWh.

Monday (29-June-2020) — New Jersey

Early Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day: Blue Jay, Gray Catbird, Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, House Finch, American Goldfinch, and Turkey Vulture.


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

Flowers of the Day: Purple Allium, Red Poppy, Blanket Flower, Teasel, Four O’Clock, Garlic Scapes, Delphinium, Larkspur, Garlic Scapes, Black-eyed Susan, Sunflower, Pink Poppy, and Foxglove.


Summer Flowers of the Day (portrait). Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Summer Flowers of the Day (landscape). Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Critters of the Day: Squirrel, Spots the Fawn, Rabbits, and Red Fox. This was the first time since last winter that I have seen Rabbits in the backyard. Within five minutes, the Red Fox showed up and the Rabbits disappeared.


Critters (mammals) of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (66.0 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (83.9 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Lots of Sun. A surplus of 17.9 kWh.


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Sunday (17-May-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Norwegian Independence Day for those in Norway. A busy day today. The trap in the patio was set up overnight for the band of raccoons. Instead, early in the morning the young fox visited several times. Each time circling and sniffing the trap. Then it entered, tasted the apple scraps and backed out. The fox would have been OK, but got greedy. A minute later, it reentered and set off the trap. As soon as it was light out, I let him out of jail.

Springtime Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro OIS lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Springtime Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro OIS lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Birds observed on the patio or while on my daily backyard walkabout include American Crow, Northern Cardinal, House Finch, Brown-headed Cowbird, Gray Catbird, Tufted Titmouse, Eastern Phoebe, and Turkey Vulture. I finally got an image of the Eastern Phoebe sitting on its nest. I also captured an image an immature Northern Cardinal is being fed by its father. I observed this behavior six years ago while on a bird photography workshop in southern Texas. One of the images I took at that time was my most viewed and commented on the now defunct Google Plus.


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

Eastern Phoebe sitting in the nest. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 1600, 261 mm, f/11, 1/45 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Eastern Phoebe sitting in the nest. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 1600, 261 mm, f/11, 1/45 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)


Northern Cardinals. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Father feeding Immature Northern Cardinal. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Father feeding Immature Northern Cardinal. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Male Northern Cardinal Feeding Breakfast to a Young Cardinal at a Private Ranch in Southern Texas. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 500 mm f/4 lens (ISO 500, 500 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec. (David J Mathre)
Male Northern Cardinal Feeding Breakfast to a Young Cardinal at a Private Ranch in Southern Texas. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 500 mm f/4 lens (ISO 500, 500 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec. (David J Mathre)
Male Northern Cardinal Feeding Breakfast to a Young Cardinal at a Private Ranch in Southern Texas. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 140, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec. (David J Mathre)
Male Northern Cardinal Feeding Breakfast to a Young Cardinal at a Private Ranch in Southern Texas. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 140, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec. (David J Mathre)
Male Northern Cardinal Feeding Breakfast to a Young Cardinal at a Private Ranch in Southern Texas. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 500 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec. (David J Mathre)
Male Northern Cardinal Feeding Breakfast to a Young Cardinal at a Private Ranch in Southern Texas. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 500 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec. (David J Mathre)

Spring flowers of the day include Five-spot, Dandelion, Johnny Jump Up, Rhododendron, Forget-me-not, Daisy, Flax, Sweet William, California Poppy, and Red Poppy.


Wildflowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Red and California Poppy Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Kermit along with his brother, cousin, and uncle (also named Kermit) out in the backyard pond.


Kermit Clan sunning at the backyard pond. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (52.3 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (67.6 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of Sun and intermittent clouds. A surplus of 15.3 kWh.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (356 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The weekly Solar Electric Energy Produced (514 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Finely, a week with a decent surplus (158 kWh).


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Friday (24-April-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Nighttime Spring Nature in New Jersey.

Young Fox out on her own last night.

Daily Electric Energy Used (54.0 kWh) from Sense Home Energy Monitor and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (13.4 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Cloudy and rainy all day. A deficit of 40.6 kWh.


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Tuesday (14-April-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

A Red Fox ran across the back section of the yard. I normally do not see them out during the day. Hope it doesn’t have rabies.


Fox crossing the back section. Images taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens.  Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (54.6 kWh) from Sense Home Energy Monitor and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (61.9 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of sun (some clouds). A surplus of 7.3 kWh.


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