Trolls - David Mathre Photography

Saturday (29-January-2022) — New Jersey

Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

When I woke up 6+ inches of snow already fell during the night. An additional 2 inches fell during the day. The snow finally stopped by 15:00. During the night, a fox was sighted by the infrared video camera off the patio.

Snow Covered Trolls (David J Mathre) — Sixteen Trolls Covered with Snow. Image taken with a Leica Q2 monochrome camera and 28 mm f/1.7 lens (ISO 100, 28 mm, f/4, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)

Birds of the day on a snowy day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, White-throated Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal.

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

Videos using the Snow Blower, and Red Rover to clear snow from the driveway. The tensioning spring for the PTO belt on the Snow Blower was loose. It was pretty hard to get it back on when the temperature was below 20°F. I needed to use a crow bar to push the belt wheel back far enough to attach the spring.

Daily Electric Energy Used (113.6 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (0.0 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. The solar panels were covered with 8+ inches of snow. The suplemental resistance heating kicked on at night as the outdoor temperature dropped below 10°F. Deficit of 113.6 kWh.

Monday (29-November-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Blue Jay, House Finch.

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

Little Planet Time-lapse Videos. Continuing to evaluate the LabPano Pilot EE 360 camera. I found that I can do longer shoots using an external USB-C battery pack. It just needs to be one that can do fast charging. The first time-lapse little planet video was changing the AAA batteries in the solar powered Trolls.
Five of the batteries that were removed, wouldn’t take a charge. With the new batteries, three of the Trolls LED lights were on during the day. They are supposed to charge the batteries when it is light out, and only light up when it gets dark out. All but one of the Trolls lights went on when it got dark out, and they were still on at midnight. Will continue to monitor if they continue to charge during the shorter days, and now that the temperature is dropping below freezing every night.

For the next video, the camera was mounted on Red Rover, and on a tripod in the field. Today’s main project was to prepare and seed some of the back sections. A couple of months ago, the sections were fertilized, rototilled, and then covered with black agricultural fabric (to kill germinating weeds). The wildflower seed vendor recommended to sow the seeds after the first few freezes. Apparently, some seeds germinate better if they are out for some time in the cold. (Just hope the birds and mice don’t eat all of the seeds). Today, the black agricultural fabric was removed, the plot leveled with a drag harrow, seeds sowed, then the seeds pressed down with a water-filled drum roller. The LabPano Pilot EE 360 camera was set for a 20x 4K time-lapse video. The white balance and exposure were set to Auto. In the time-lapse video you can see problems with the white balance and exposure. The lighting conditions kept changing from sunny to cloudy.

Daily Electric Energy Used (69.1 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (24.5 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Cloudy and cold. Geothermal HVAC heating the house. Deficit of 44.6 kWh.

Tuesday (16-November-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Day Working Outside and in the Garage in New Jersey.

Trolls planning to spend the night protecting the large autumn mushrooms before more gets eaten by the Leopard Slugs, Squirrels, and Field Mice. Also, a troll using a large mushroom to practice ski jumping before the Olympics.

Trolls Protecting the Autumn Mushroom Crop. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

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

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

My Little Planet time-lapse video for the day. Assembling more wire shelving units. They will be used to store the Soft Pots containing Canna and Gladiolus tubers in the garage for the winter. Using the DR Power leaf vac to clear the fallen autumn leaves in the back and east side yard. This time I emptied the trailer before it was full and too heavy to tip. Removing the backhoe and installing the trailer hitch on Red Rover. Then attaching the trailer and moving 12 Soft Pots with Canna tubers to the storage shelves in the garage.

Daily Electric Energy Used (57.4 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (26.8 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Mostly sunny. The sun is lower, and the Sycamore tree sill has leaves blocking the solar panels. Getting colder outside so the Geothermal HVAC is heating the house. Deficit of 30.6 kWh.

Tuesday (09-November-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Troll trying to protect his large autumn mushroom from the Leopard Slugs.

Troll Protection the Mushroom Crop. (David J Mathre) — Troll protecting a Mushroom from the Leopard Slugs. Image taken with a Leica SL2s camera and Laowa 24 mm f/14 fisheye lens. (David J Mathre)

Leopard Slugs Dinning on Mushrooms. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (42.9 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (25.8 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Mostly sunny. The Geothermal furnace is now on to heat the house. Indoor temperature set to 64° F. Deficit of 17.6 kWh.

Friday (08-October-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

The Troll family found some large mushrooms growing in the black wood mulch, and decided to have an autumn harvest party.

Troll Family Autumn Mushroom Harvest Celebration. (David J Mathre) — Troll Family Autumn Mushroom Harvest Celebration. Image taken with a Leica S2 camera and 24-90 mm lens. (David J Mathre)

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, House Finch.

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

Flowers of the day: Cosmos, Morning Glory, Partridge Pea, Rose Mallow, Zinnia.

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

Two different types of frogs. A well camouflaged Pickerel frog in the yard, and a Green frog (Kermit) in the pond. Apparently, the Pickerel frog is the only poisonous frog in North America.

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

Daily Electric Energy Used (46.9 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (32.3 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sun and clouds. Deficit of 14.6 kWh.