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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Thursday (18-June-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day — Northern Cardinal, Black-capped Chickadee, House Finch, Gray Catbird, Chipping Sparrow, Blue Jay, and Tufted Titmouse. The Eastern Phoebe continues to sit on the nest.


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

Spotted Fawns  at Daycare. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 200-500 mm f/4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Spotted Fawns at Daycare. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 200-500 mm f/4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Pair of Spotted Fawns dropped off at Daycare. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Pair of Spotted Fawns dropped off at Daycare. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Pair of Spotted Fawns dropped off at Daycare. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Pair of Spotted Fawns dropped off at Daycare. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (40.5 kWh) from Sense. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (31.5 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. More clouds than sun. A deficit of 9.0 kWh.


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Saturday (23-May-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the Day — Brown-headed Cowbird, House Finch, Northern Cardinal, Mourning Dove, White-breasted Nuthatch, Black-capped Chickadee, Blue-Jay, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and Eastern Phoebe. There continues to be lots of action at the Eastern Phoebe nest with both parents feed the new hatchlings.


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

Spring flowers of the day — Poppies (California, Oriental, Red), Dame’s Rocket, Five-spot, Rhododendron, Johnny Jump Up, Babies Blue Eyes, Bachelor Button, Cornflower, Sweet William, Dianthus, Siberian Wallflower, Daisy, Foxglove, and Tulip Tree.


California, Red, and Oriental Poppies. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


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

Barely a week old, and the new Fawn with spots is running around the yard. So far lucky that there are not many cars on the road as its only natural predator is the automobile.


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

Daily Electric Energy Used (47.7 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (32.5 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Cloudy much of the day. A deficit 0f 15.2 kWh.


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Monday (18-May-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

I went out just after sunrise to check if any of the poppy flowers started to open, and noticed a very small fawn with spots lying down in the clovers. The Doe left it for daycare while she went out for something to eat.


Young Spotted Fawn. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

I continue to monitor the Eastern Phoebe nest above my door. So far just one of the parents sitting on the nest — no evidence any of the eggs have hatched.

Eastern Phoebe sitting in the nest. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 200 mm f/2 OIS lens + 1.4x teleconverter (ISO 1600, 280 mm, f/2.8, 1/280 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Eastern Phoebe sitting in the nest. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 200 mm f/2 OIS lens + 1.4x teleconverter (ISO 1600, 280 mm, f/2.8, 1/280 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Spring flowers of the day include Five-spot, Dandelion, Johnny Jump Up, Rhododendron, Forget-me-not, Siberian Wallflowers, California Poppy, and Red Poppy.


Daily Flowers — Landscape. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Daily Flowers — Portrait. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Grass grows fast this time of the year and needed to be cut.

Daily Electric Energy Used (53.1 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (61.6 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Intermittent clouds all day. A surplus of 8.5 kWh.


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Tuesday (05-May-2020) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

A Doe left her very young Fawn in my backyard for daycare. Birds at the feeder today include Gray Catbird (likes apple), Brown-headed Cowbird, and Northern Cardinals

Shy very young Fawn. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 211 mm, f/6.4, 1/90 sec) (David J Mathre)
Shy very young Fawn. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 211 mm, f/6.4, 1/90 sec) (David J Mathre)


Daily Birds at the Bird Feeder. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (52.8 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (70.4 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. A surplus of 17.6 kWh.


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