Based on the ravaged tomato foliage in the background of the photo, I'll give you 10-1 odds that is a tomato hornworm, and they turn into sphinx moths. I've never seen a fresh chrysalis, but I can' imagine what else it would be. Mature hornworm chrysalis (chrysali?!) are brown and you'll find them in the soil. Keep us posted!

That's air travel...especially in iffy spring weather conditions. I've always had a rule about flying. My driving radius is 5 hours. I learned a long time ago that when I factored in travel time back and forth to the airport, probable delays and comfort, I fly only when it's more than a 5 hours drive. When I started working, I would fly into Pittsburgh (from PHL)...I learned the hard way that the(at most) 5 hour drive was less than the average plane trip time..door to door. Same with going down to Va.

Oak and ash look very similar from a distance, both being ring-porous woods. Ash tends to have a whiter tone (unless you get some dark heartwood). Red oak tends to have reds, yellows, and often some blacks in it (I was once told there were 35 different color gradings for red oak). White oak tends to be browner. But all that said, any wood can have all the color bleached out of it. The way I tell is to look for medullary rays. Ash has none, red oak shorter ones and white oak longer ones. What medullary rays look like depends upon the orientation of the wood as cut from the log, as the rays go radially. Plainsawn will show just short lines, quarter or rift sawn will show large figure.

" in spite of showing the most common, everyday symptom of lack of nitrogen: general yellowing. " And this may be where some of the confusion is coming in. A nitrogen deficiency is NOT characterized by a "general yellowing".....at least in an established or older plant (may show as a generalized off color in seedlings). It is the oldest (lower or inner) growth that first shows symptoms of yellowed foliage, never the new growth. That's where the plant pushes all of its nutrient reserves. If this were the issue with the plant in question - lack of adequate N - then we would see internal discoloration, not the external coloring the photos illustrate. And the new growth would not be as lush or profuse or as dense as is shown. And that is simply the way that specific nutrient deficiency works....it is not really up for debate! Yard, I am really having trouble understanding why you are not willing to accept this, including the input from two quite experienced horticulturists/plantspersons (floral and Embothrium), leaving my comments aside. It's not like yews of all types are rare commodities in either the PNW or the UK and both individuals confirm that very chartreuse, acid yellow/lime green is not an uncommon coloring for any new growth yet you seem to dismiss that as inconsequential or limited to only selected cultivars. I wish I had taken photos of the new stock at my local nursery when I was there last week, as ALL the yews were showing similarly colored new growth. It only lasts a matter of a couple of weeks before it takes on the more typical darker green color. And there is also the very real consideration that color perception is largely subjective - what seems anemic or bleached out to you looks perfectly normal to others - and that photos seldom portray color with total accuracy. I have to say that I do not see any "yellow" in the OP's photo.....just a very vibrant lime green. And the shrub appears to be extremely healthy with dense new growth and no obvious need for any fertilization at this time.