Still safe here. Maybe next year? My area is always wet and damp though on the north side of my hill so maybe the fungus that controls them is more prevalent here. I saw a few big ones last year that were shriveled up on the ground, but never saw any oak damage.
The spongys (gypsies) don't make tents like the eastern tent caterpillars. They're hitting 93 just south of me pretty hard this year. The oaks are starting to put out new leaves now.
Yeah my back is like a lobster after weeding and mulching around fruit trees today. I used to love the solstice in S FL this time of year with almost no shadow at solar noon.
Yeah still a lag at the surface but the depth of the smoke layer is decreasing over N CT. You can see the cumulus line popping southward as the insolation increases behind the deep layer. The air is definitely trying to improve through the CT River Valley in S MA though. BAF and CEF are up around the HZ threshold and BDL is 5SM.