Well, this has been a dispiriting week. My stepmother's death has knocked all of us on our backs, for a variety of reasons. I'm sick of hearing and thinking about Jeffrey Epstein and his disgusting cult of exploitation, and I'm sick of rain and grayness and winter. I'm in one of those moods.
Did you see the story about the iguana cull in Florida? Iguanas, which are not native to Florida but like a lot of exotic reptiles have run wild in many areas, do not react well to cold. When the temperature dips too far, their nervous systems shut down and they literally fall out of the trees where they live. They're not dead, just in a cold-induced torpor -- they reawaken when the temperatures warm up again. Meanwhile, it rains iguanas.
Apparently it's been so cold in Florida that iguanas have been dropping left and right, and the authorities have encouraged people to collect the poor helpless critters so they can be "humanely" euthanized. I understand that they're an exotic species competing with native creatures for limited resources, but still, this seems patently unfair to me. Talk about kicking someone when they're down! It's very effective as a public policy, though, and more than 5,000 iguanas have so far been killed.
See? Dispiriting.
It's also been a long week at work. Fortunately next week we only have a few days with students and then it's parent-teacher conference time, which means the library will be pretty quiet. Maybe I can do some back-office stuff and some shelf-organizing. And then Dave and I are off to Spain!
(Photo: A colorful window at Roche Bobois on Finchley Road.)
Did you see the story about the iguana cull in Florida? Iguanas, which are not native to Florida but like a lot of exotic reptiles have run wild in many areas, do not react well to cold. When the temperature dips too far, their nervous systems shut down and they literally fall out of the trees where they live. They're not dead, just in a cold-induced torpor -- they reawaken when the temperatures warm up again. Meanwhile, it rains iguanas.
Apparently it's been so cold in Florida that iguanas have been dropping left and right, and the authorities have encouraged people to collect the poor helpless critters so they can be "humanely" euthanized. I understand that they're an exotic species competing with native creatures for limited resources, but still, this seems patently unfair to me. Talk about kicking someone when they're down! It's very effective as a public policy, though, and more than 5,000 iguanas have so far been killed.
See? Dispiriting.
It's also been a long week at work. Fortunately next week we only have a few days with students and then it's parent-teacher conference time, which means the library will be pretty quiet. Maybe I can do some back-office stuff and some shelf-organizing. And then Dave and I are off to Spain!
(Photo: A colorful window at Roche Bobois on Finchley Road.)
It's been sad for you and extra sad for the iguanas. My opinion on culling rather depends on their effect on local wildlife and vegetation. There must be some negative effect, so perhaps culling is necessary.
ReplyDeleteJanuary is always difficult to get through and then along comes February. Just as cold but with a hint of light that will lead to spring. It is sad about your stepmother, it has released many memories for you. Take the past as it comes and light up your life with photos of colourful furniture that looks like cactus in a desert!
ReplyDeleteRoche Bobois is always intriguing to me. I was reading about the “successful” iguana cull this morning and had the same mixed reaction. They shouldn’t be there, are bad for the environment and the economy... and yet. I suppose there are much worse ways to do a cull. I’m glad you have Spain to look forward to. I hope the weather is better when you’re here.
ReplyDeleteIt's not the iguanas' fault that someone carelessly introduced them to Florida, and they did not choose to become an invasive species. But that's the way of our species to handle what we don't like or want near us - we kill them, if we can't get rid of them easily otherwise.
ReplyDeleteDispiriting indeed.
I have heard of the expression, "raining cats and dogs" but raining iguanas is a new one on me. I think they are eaten in some countries but personally I would never choose an iguanaburger or a crispy iguana salad. Let's hope the weather in Spain has perked up by the time you go.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had much time to read blogs for several days so I didn't know about your stepmother until now. Please allow me to offer my belated condolences. I read about the big iguana kill and thought it was strange. I'm glad they don't live in Jacksonville. At least you can look forward to the warmth of Spain, and we'll look forward to reading about your adventures and seeing your photos.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I have largely been ignoring the entire Epstein thing, not because I endorsed it, but because I have known since he was convicted that nothing more would become of it other than to make powerful people squirm a bit until the public moved on. I try to focus my mental energies on more productive matters.
ReplyDeleteI have heard of it raining iguanas but hadn't heard they were culling them. But like most stories, I knew there must be more to it so I googled it. Evidently they tunnel a lot doing millions of dollars of damage every year, they love to poop on decks and in pools spreading salmonella to humans and sometimes killing them, can spread botulism to pets which is often deadly, are the second leading cause of power outages in the state and are killing off other species of animals including an endangered native species of snails.
I hate to be THAT guy but if euthanizing the iguanas keeps them from falling on me as I step outside, well, I might just be on that team.
ReplyDeleteI guess the only upside of the iguana cull, is that they won't be stressed by being trapped before they are euthanized.
ReplyDeleteCan you take a few days off for bereavement? You are grieving your stepmother's death.
I certainly hope the rain in Spain stays mainly away when you're there. Right now it's not much better than London. There, I brought in a cheering note. I don't like February because it's lighter and miserably cold at the same time. It's just wrong.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering the same thing as Pixie- will you get any bereavement time?
ReplyDeleteYou know, I wasn't aware of the frozen iguana culling effort. Only in Florida, right? Similarly, there are regular culls of wild swine, another non-native species which does a fantastic amount of damage to the native wetlands and other environments. This is a problem in many states. As usual, man introduced the problems by bringing these species in which have thrived here and there appears to be no solution except for what we might call mass murder.
Boy, I'm cheerful today too.
Hey! You're going to Spain! A civilized country! And you get to see Mitchell and Jerry! And the Alhambra. Think about that. (Don't you love it when people leave comments that are so patently useless?)
Overcast, cold, wet, dreary weather is why I could never live in the PNW. Going to Spain may not get you away from the dreary weather though. Mitchell has been groaning about the same thing.
ReplyDeleteRaining iguanas. That's something you don't see everyday and yeah it seems patently unfair that they are being snatched up and killed while they're helpless.
One of the hard things about my last parent died was realizing that now my sister and brother and I were the oldest in our family. And then when my sister died suddenly and unexpectedly, I became the oldest! Pixie has a good suggestion about taking a few days off.