In an earlier post I wrote about invasive species that inhabit south Florida. Among them are iguanas which are a real problem. Currently we are in the middle of the longest cold wave since 1927. The Sun-Sentinel, our local paper here in Fort Lauderdale reported, “Overnight temperatures in Miami dropped to 36 degrees, and West Palm Beach saw a low of 33, both shattering records set in 1927.”
Now I know that’s not earth shattering to most people around the world. I regularly check out the Cape Cod Times, a newspaper I worked for as a general assignment reporter back in 1964, and in the middle of the afternoon yesterday the temperature in Hyannis was 17! (One reason I headed south, and the temperatures HERE in Fort Lauderdale recently are the reason I’m retiring to Panama.)
One positive result of the cold snap is what it’s doing to the iguana population. There were stories that when the temperatures drop into the low forties the iguanas, which are reptiles and depend on the sun to maintain their body temperatures become comatose and fall out of the trees. Well, it’s true. When I was walking my dog, Penny, yesterday, I found this under a tree in an alley way we walk through…
And today, when I went out to start the engines on my boat because I have a prospective buyer, this is what I found…
I’m sure the cold didn’t get all of them, but the fewer the better.
One More Good Adventure 
A friend in Lauderhill had an Anole or two come tumbling down. She’s nursing them a bit more than she would an iguana.
I actually stop by the Sun-Sentinel now and then to read Ken Kaye’s weather blog and leave a comment. Ken’s done some blogging over at WeatherUnderground – that’s where I got to know him. He’s fun to read during hurricane season when his local readers get all exercised over this or that…
Personally I rather like the Anoles though, being small, I haven’t noticed if they’ve been falling out of the trees. There’s a species of Anoles called “ring tails” that are descending from the northern part of the state. They’re cannibalistic and eating the smaller, more docile green anoles which you hardly see any more. There is almost always an anole or two in my house. I call them Penny’s pets. Since they eat bugs I don’t have a problem with them being inside, and there are, from time to time, geckos, too.