Trolls - David Mathre Photography

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.

Seven-Years Ago (06-December-2013) — New Jersey

LG Combination Washer/Dryer Vibrations: Troll Family Dance

The combination LG washing machine/dryer arrived seven years ago. It was a bit of a challenge getting it into the house, and into the laundry room. Once in the laundry room, it was very easy to set-up. It only required a single outlet (120 V, 15 A), hot & cold water connections, and the drain. The previous electric dryer required higher voltage and current (220 V, 40 A), and an outdoor vent. There was a bit of vibration (actually a lot of vibration during the spin dry cycle until I leveled the unit). The house trolls quickly discovered that it worked as a great dance floor. The unit is still running (2020), although did have to replace the drain pump last year.

Daily Electric Energy Used (57.9 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (31.1 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sunny with some clouds. Geothermal HVAC system on. A deficit of 26.8 kWh.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (365 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (110 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. A deficit of 255 kWh.

Sunday (18-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

The troll mushroom hunters found two big ones. It has been hot and humid the last several days, but no rain.

Mushroom Hunting Trolls found a Big One. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 55-135 mm lens (ISO 100, 135 mm, f/4.5, 1/500 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Mushroom Hunting Trolls found a Big One. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 55-135 mm lens (ISO 320, 135 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE) — Mushroom Hunting Trolls found a second Big One. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 55-135 mm lens (ISO 320, 135 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (61.1 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (51.2 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More clouds and bit less Sun. The WaterFurnace geothermal HVAC had to work harder (25.7 kWh) because the temperature outside went above 90°F. Daily net deficit 9.9 kWh. Weekly totals 412 kWh used, 350 kWh produced. So far still ahead for the month of August, but will need some more sunny days

One note — the WaterFurnace Symphony software indicated the system used 14 kWh, however the Sense Energy monitor indicated that the geothermal heat pump used 25.7 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.