I haven’t been doing Dawn Panoramas recently since during the summer the sun rises further to the north which is blocked by trees and the house next door. By driving down the hill across from the J&J facility, I have a better view and took this Dawn Panorama this morning. Later on got some images of the Sunflower patch in my Wildflower Meadow.
Dawn Clouds. Composite of three images taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens (ISO 100, 23 mm, f/2.8, 1/160 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Sunflower Patch. Click on the above image to access the slideshow images.
Three Bumble Bees on a Sunflower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)Monarch Butterfly on a Zinnia Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Goldfinch looking for a Sunflower Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 720, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Daily Electric Energy Used (58.9 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (71.6 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Daily net Surplus 12.7 kWh. For the week used 399 kWh and produced 441 kWh. Weekly net surplus 42 kWh.
I decided to take some cameras out that I haven’t been using much. Looking at the images I can see I need to spend more time using and practicing with theses cameras. Some of the images are not tack sharp. I can’t just use the cameras in auto mode, need to slow down and make sure I have the settings right. The large sunflowers next to the house were up to the roof edge, but got so heavy they bent over. The field of sunflowers in the back wildflower meadow are attracting lots of bees and butterflies.
Sunflowers. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)Sunflowers. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Leica T camera and 60 mm f/2.8 lens. Click on the above image to access the individual images in my Photoshelter Gallery.
Leica TL2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. Click on the above image to access the individual images in my Photoshelter Gallery.
Sunflowers. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)Tiger Swallowtail. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Daily Electric Energy Used (49.7 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (41.1 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Cloudy most of the day so solar energy production was down 32 kWh. A bit cooler so the Geothermal HVAC system didn’t have to work as hard so the overall energy used was down nearly 20 kWh, for a net deficit of 8.6 kWh. The monthly stats for July are electric energy used: 1841 kWh, solar energy generated: 2075 kWh, for a monthly electric energy surplus of 234 kWh.
Wildflowers in bloom and my urban garden. The yucca plant sent shoots up to flower. The local deer really like these, and if I don’t catch and protect the shoots I don’t get any of the yucca flowers. These flowers bloom at night, around a full moon and attract some large moths. Lots of red poppies and cosmos flowers. Other flowers include the blue spiderworts (open for a day, every day new ones), cornflowers (bachelor buttons — attract goldfinches), morning glory vines, and daisy’s. The garden towers are full of fruits and vegetables. One of my sunflower plants is taller than I am. It is also supporting a burma gourd (water gourd plant) that I hope to get some gourds this year.
Daily Power Use (74.2 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (42.05 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Power use is up since I reduced the indoor temperature provided by the WaterFurnace Geothermal HVAC system. Will raise the indoor temperature to 72°F for tomorrow. The power was also out for a little over one hour in the morning. For safety/code reasons, if the PSE&G power is down, my solar panels are disconnected from the grid. I’m thinking of getting a couple of Tesla PowerWall batteries so this doesn’t happen in the future.
