Spots - David Mathre Photography

Thursday (22-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Daily Walkabout, today with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. My favorite lightweight kit, with plenty of reach. The Snowberry Clearwing Moths (with the black legs) are back. They also like the Bee Balm flowers. Monarch Butterfly feeding on a Marigold flower, and Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on a Zinnia flower. There has been rain all around us, but not here. The pond level is down, and the frogs are skittish. A small sparrow (LBJ) and a fawn trying to hide behind some grass.

Snowberry Clearwing Moth feeding on a Bee Balm flower. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Monarch butterfly feeding on a Marigold flower. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly feeding on a Zinnia flower. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Kermit the Bullfrog. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Little Sparrow. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Fawn Hiding Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (59.7 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (61.3 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. The WaterFurnace geothermal HVAC had to work hard (25 kWh) because the temperature outside went above 90°F. A bit more sun so a net surplus of 0.6 kWh. Cooler weather expected tomorrow!

One note — the WaterFurnace Symphony software indicated the system used 15 kWh, however the Sense Energy monitor indicated that the geothermal heat pump used 25 kWh. I tend to believe the Sense numbers since they more closely the energy being recorded at the external power company (PSE&G) meters. I’ve asked the WaterFurnace folks in the past about the discrepancy, but they didn’t have a good answer. The Sense folks told me they thought that the WaterFurnace/Symphony system was only measuring one phase of the energy even though the system is powered by the 220V circut (using two phases). I wish an electrical engineer that understands this better would correct me here.

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Monday (05-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Two fawns with spots and a doe were out early to eat some grass before I mowed the lawn. It was still pretty dark out, and these images were taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 200 mm f/2 OIS lens at f/2 and 3200 ISO. I didn’t process the images to remove any noise. I did mow the lawn (time-lapse video). After mowing the yard I went out with the Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens and captured images of butterflies (Tiger Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, Silver-spotted Skipper, Common Buckeye, Painted Lady, and Zebulon (?) Skipper); Goldfinch eating both Cosmos and Sunflowers; Some very large Bumble Bees on the Sunflower; Kermit and his brothers Kermit the Bullfrogs (including the one-eyed Kermit); and the Deer protesting after I mowed the lawn.

Deer: Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.

Fawn with Spots "Why are you Mowing the Grass???" . Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE) — Fawn with Spots “Why are you Mowing the Grass???” . Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Butterflies: Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.

Goldfinch: Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.

Bumblebees: Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.

Kermit and his brothers Kermit the Bullfrogs: Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.

Deer: Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.

Daily Electric Energy Used (57.1 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (64.1 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Daily net Surplus 7 kWh. For the week used 399 kWh and produced 441 kWh. Weekly net surplus 42 kWh.

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Friday (02-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Daily Walkabout. Today with a Nikon D5 camera and 200-500 mm f/4 VR lens. Lots of activity in the wildflower meadows. Part II. There were a few Hummingbird Clearwing Moths out, feeding mainly on Zinnia flowers. A couple of Bullfrogs near the pond. One of the frogs is blind in one eye. It has been around for a while so obviously able to survive. I haven’t been able to get close to the really big Bullfrog in the pond. Someday, I will set up a blind near the pond. Finally, the deer family passed through around dinnertime.

Hummingbird Clearwing Moths (Hemaris thysbe) Click on the Above image to access the images in the slideshow in my Photoshelter Gallery.

Kermit the Bullfrog. Click on the Above image to access the images in the slideshow in my Photoshelter Gallery.

Fawn with spots sticking out its Tongue. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 200-500 mm f/5.6 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE) — Fawn with Spots sticking out its Tongue. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 200-500 mm f/5.6 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (51.8 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (61.4 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Net Surplus 9.6 kWh.

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Saturday (23-June-2018) — New Jersey

Backyard Early Summertime in New Jersey.

There were three young fawns with spots in my backyard. Two of the fawns were very rambunctious running after each other as their mothers stayed still and watched. The new bird for the day at the bird feeder was a Hairy Woodpecker. A variety of Lily flowers have been blooming in my neighbor’s yard. The ones I planted last year didn’t make it being taken over by the “mile-a-minute” vine. Individual images from the slide-shows can be viewed here.

Five-Years Ago (24-August-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Pair of Fawns Resting in the Shade to Escape the Heat. Backyard summer nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 camera and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6. 1/40 sec).

Pair of Fawns Resting in the Shade Image taken with a Nikon D700 camera and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6. 1/40 sec). (David J Mathre) — Pair of Fawns Resting in the Shade. Image taken with a Nikon D700 camera and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6. 1/40 sec). (David J Mathre)