Insects, Amphibians, and Reptiles...oh, and Hurricane Irene

Today’s post will begin shortly, but first…I need to answer an emergency question from ES in Nevada who wrote in over the weekend:

ZW,

I know it’s not the first Tuesday of the month, but seeing that Hurricane Irene is on its way to your location, can you comment on how the locals handle the news?  Thanks.

Great question…and one that needs to be answered this week since Hurricane Irene will be gone by the next Correspondence Tuesday (which is actually the 3^rd Tuesday of every month…not the first, but I’ll forgive you since you’ve been such a stout contributor).  To be honest with you, the locals treat news of an impending hurricane like an investor would treat news of a 200 point drop in the Dow: it’s only a little depressing, and it’s definitely not unexpected (note: this is absolutely asinine to me). I’ve had a ton of conversations with people about this and most of them include phrases like:

Random person #1: “Oh…yeah I guess Irene might hit here Friday.  So how was your weekend?”

RP #2: “I guess I better get to the store…oh well.”

RP #3: “Meh…”

(Note: all quotes above were approximated. (which…now that I think about it…actually takes away from the point of using quotations...woops))

The Floridians also have a custom when a hurricane makes its way to the mainland…they have what they refer to as “Hurricane Parties!”  They board up the windows, lock the doors, and buy a ton of booze.  It’s the Midwest equivalent of a “Snow Day” when you find out the night before that class has been canceled, it’s a free-for-all…  While I’m not hoping for a destructive hurricane to run its way through Florida, a "Hurricane Party" is something I feel I need to experience before my time here is up. 

(It looks like Hurricane Irene will miss most of Florida, but the way weather patterns down here operate, I'm not taking anything for granted until she dissipates.)

Onto today’s post…Over the past weekend I started thinking about all of the different wild-life I see everyday down here and pondered: “you know…I haven’t really talked about that on the blog.”  So today I’m going to chronicle some of my favorite run-ins with Florida’s critters and creatures:

1.       Every morning as I exit the HLC, I’m greeted by a large contingent of...get this...geckos.  I literally almost step on one every morning on my way to the car.  They breed them like ants down here…and it’s not just at the HLC, at work I see even more of them scurrying around and blending in with the bushes.  I have yet to see a lizard bigger than 4-5 inches, but I’ve been told they exist so I’ll keep my eyes peeled.

2.       In the 3.5 weeks I’ve been down here, I’ve almost hit 3 turtles crossing the street.  The first time, I was a little concerned, but now…now I kind of see them as a nuisance…almost like the cats of the South.  I’ll continue to swerve and try to avoid them, but I make no promises

3.       A frog was climbing on the window of the clinic this morning…I must have had some sort of weird look on my face because the other people at the clinic immediately told me that this happens all the time.  Apparently it isn’t that uncommon to have a frog or two on your windshield in the morning…which I think is kinda neat.

4.       Apparently some people at the clinic found scorpions (note: yes…scorpions) in their houses the other day.  Multiple scorpions in multiple houses…needless to say, this has me checking under my pillows and under the bed every night before I go to sleep.  I’m absolutely petrified of waking up with a scorpion on my face or even in my room…I may never sleep again. (I take a little solace in the fact that they are known to gravitate near pine trees…of which, there are very few near the HLC.)

5.       I’ve been told that there are also anaconda snakes down in an area known as “Alligator Alley” which is south of here by a ways, but it would be on my way to Miami.  I intend on visiting this “Alley”…if nothing else, to see alligators and anacondas up close…don’t worry, I’ll produce a full report…now I just need an excuse to go to Miami (which shouldn’t take much time to find)…RT!, let’s get on this!

That’s all for today folks^  I’m still looking for a story for SCT IV, so don’t be afraid to email me some stories.  See you back here Thursday^^