Rock Brook - David Mathre Photography

Tuesday (26-October-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Mourning Dove, House Finch.

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

After the rain stopped, I rode my bike down to Rock Brook to see how far the water level had risen. The last storm when we got 6-7 inches of rain Rock Brook overflowed and damaged the one-lane bridge. This storm we got a little over 3 inches. The water was running fast, but still under the roadway. There was a new tree down, downstream of the bridge.

Rock Brook after a Heavy Rainstorm. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

On the way back from the bridge, I took several images of a local field that had just been mowed, and the hay rolled up into round bales.

Autumn Hay Bale. (David J Mathre) — Round bales of hay on a local recently mowed field. Composite of six images taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens. (David J Mathre)

Daily Electric Energy Used (41.7 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (19.9 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Cloudy most of the day. Deficit of 21.8 kWh.

Thursday (02-September-2021) — New Jersey

Hurricane Ida Aftermath.

Yesterday afternoon and night the remnants of Hurricane Ida passed through New Jersey. My weather station recorded nearly 7 inches (175 mm) of rain. There were several tornado warnings, and I spent some time down in the basement. The rain stopped around midnight. As soon as the sun came up this morning, I went for a walkabout down Grandview Road to the single lane bridge over Rock Brook. There was a pickup truck with a very long trailer having problems trying to turn around. Also, a dump truck that needed to back out. Once I got close to the bridge, the asphalt roadway had been washed off of the road. Water was running across the roadway, and the bridge was blocked with several fallen trees. It will be some time before the bridge and roadway can be repaired. I can’t complain as I still have power, and no flooding.

Damage from the Remnants of Hurricane Ida. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (63.7 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (64.0 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. The sun returned. A surplus of 0.3 kWh.

Sunday (22-August-2021) — New Jersey

Tropical Storm Henri Aftermath.

Last night and early this morning lots of thunder, lightning, and rain as Tropical Storm Henri passed through. My weather station didn’t record much wind, but nearly 5 inches (125 mm) of rain. After the rain stopped, I went for a walkabout down Grandview Road to the single lane bridge over Rock Brook. Normally, Rock Brook is a quiet stream. It was running hard today. A tree had been washed onto the side of the bridge. We could get some more rain through the day and overnight. Somerset county has reported several locations where roads are closed due to flooding.

Tropical Storm Henri. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (48.4 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (9.8 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Rainy most of the day. A deficit of 38.6 kWh.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (396 kWh) from Sense. Weekly Solar Electric Energy Produced (226 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. A deficit of 170 kWh.

Eight-Years Ago (28-August-2011) — New Jersey

Hurricane Irene. Central New Jersey.

My Sunday morning post from eight-years ago. Today we are watching Hurricane Dorian as it tracks toward Florida.

I spent Friday and Saturday getting prepared for Hurricane Irene. The storm intensity started increasing late Saturday night. At about 11:30 PM, I heard a crash and the lights went out. When I got up Sunday morning the wind and rain had decreased significantly. I guess this was when the eye of the hurricane was moving up the coast of New Jersey directly east. When I went out I saw that a tree had fallen next to the road and took down the power, cable, and phone lines. I tried to call in the fallen lines to PSE&G, but couldn’t get past the automated emergency reporting system. My wireless Internet connection also didn’t work. A lot of branches and tree limbs were down in the yard, but thankfully no damage to the house or vehicles. The following images are of the nearby Rock Brook and local woods. Normally at this time of the year, the brook is almost dry. The road closed sign was right in front of my driveway.

Road Closed. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)

Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)

One-Year Ago (01-May-2014) — New Jersey

Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Emerging tree sprouting spring leaves that the survived the flooding along Rock Brook. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 23 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 23 mm, f/16, 1/17 sec).

Emerging Spring Tree Leaves the Survived the Flooding Along Rock Brook Last Night. Spring Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 23 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 23 mm, f/16, 1/17 sec). (David J Mathre)