At Last, Silence

Finally, the stuff that was sprayed from low-flying helicopters to control the gypsy moth plague seems to have taken effect. After munching and crunching the oak trees while crawling over buildings and people, they are dying in large numbers. It looks like most of the caterpillars won't turn into moths after all. It made for an unpleasant experience to be outside, but like the aliens in War of the Worlds, they are stopped. These critters, along with the emerald ash borer and japanese beetle, along with native species such as deer, are more challenging to a gardener than ever before.

The Latest.

This painting is just finished, "Caladium", a botanical watercolor. I haven't painted a purely botanical work in a long time, possibly years. Usually there's a bird or insect included but this is purely plant. I've painted this plant before, and added them to my garden, but until now they've never flowered. This one is flowering profusely, and it's fascinating. I learned that they are a member of the arum family, like the jack-in-the-pulpit, and the flower has a scent reminiscent of wintergreen- like the Lifesavers!

Here it is:

Inspiration

This is a recent photo of one of my gardens. The Siberian and Bearded Irises are both in bloom. The persistent cool weather is garden-friendly. The current plague of gypsy moth larvae is not. The trees are crackling with the sound of their munching, and they are crawling over buildings and dropping out of the trees onto defenseless humans below. Eeeewww.

Making the Best of It.

Having to take some unpaid time off from work has had a benefit. I had a chance to meet with the Reed-Turner Botanical Artists for the first time in well over a year to discuss our group's issues and actually draw in the field. It really was in a field, a prairie, and I had a chance to learn more about the prairie wildflowers, all while swatting mosquitoes. (Couldn't resist adding a complaint).

A Garden Party

I don't enter many gallery shows, but this one is tailor-made! "Garden Party" will feature garden-related art, and I'll be showing 3 original pieces: the Robin and Magnolia painting seen in the last entry, the Goldfinch and Coneflower, and the Nasturtium and Magicicada, both shown in earlier posts on this blog. Opening reception June 19, show will end July 16.