#2748 "Singleton Sanctuary in Winter"

#2748 "Singleton Sanctuary in Winter"
12x36 by 1.5 inches Gallery Wrapped oils on canvas

I took this panoramic view of the waterfront from the end of the marble ridge on the rocky path that leads to my swimming hole. I walked through the fairly deep snow from the edge of our property so as not to disturb the scene. I wanted to convey the sweeping expanse of a natural paradise. We minimize our impacts and nature continues to enjoy free reign. There is nothing quite like allowing yourself to be surrounded by nature. Thoreau understood. 

Painting in front of the Pacific Energy wood stove on those
winter days when the wind chill would freeze my hands.

The temperatures were around minus 32 Celsius which was a good thing. That chilly temperature was colder than minus 29 Celsius which is what it takes to kill the eggs of the Gypsy moth. The previous year 2021) had seen an infestation of caterpillars and moths and the forests were suffering. Egg masses were everywhere. There was no outbreak at least at Singleton in the summer of 2022. 

The gypsy moth was introduced to the United States in 1869 and has become one of the most serious defoliators of hardwoods in North America. The gypsy moth was first detected in Canada in 1912 in British Columbia, where egg masses had been accidentally introduced on young cedars from Japan. However, the first infestation in Canada occurred in 1924 in southwestern Quebec, near the U.S. border, followed by a second infestation in 1936 in New Brunswick. In both cases, the insect was eradicated through intensive egg mass removal campaigns. 

Gypsy moth damage is caused exclusively by the caterpillars, which feed on developing leaves in May. Newly hatched larvae are hairy and black and feed by chewing small holes in the surface of the leaves. Older larvae devour the entire leaf. 

The common name of this particular insect goes back to at least 1908 and possibly refers to the way the moth's larvae are blown on the wind or the way its caterpillars migrate each day from a tree's leaves to shady spots on its trunk. The name "gypsy moth" must have offended someone so in March 2022, the Entomological Societies of Canada and America adopted the name "spongy moth" as the new common name for the moth species Lymantria dispar. Oh my... revising history has become very popular.

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Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick