It’s that time of year when cold weather arrives, transforming our lush vegetation into the likes of collard greens. Then, there's always the problem of falling iguanas. . . .
Tourists are impacted—in South Beach, many hotels aren’t prepared. Radiators and blankets? Whatever for!
Even though freezes do occur, here on the East Coast of Central Florida, local residents are rarely prepared. Panic sets in—similar to that feeling in hurricane season. When we see a post on the FaceBook weather pages, we race to cover plants, and we stock up on food and beverages as well as library books. We often cancel plans.
Even in Florida, a freeze can lead to power outages, downed tree limbs and sinkholes, which come from over-pumping water from the aquifer to protect crops. Many of our plants are not native and hence are more susceptible to freeze.
Citrus, native to Southeast Asia, came to Florida with Spanish explorers in the late 15th century and has grown into an important crop. Since the 19th century, freezes (the “great freeze” of 1894-1895, and more recently the freezes of the mid 1980s), have wiped out groves. Many of us remember passing those hillsides of orange trees in Central Florida. We've stopped at roadside stands. After the freeze, hundreds of acres of dead trees were replaced with pines and housing developments.
Native to Florida, more than 8,000 manatees live along the coastal areas. In winter, when water temperatures drop below 68 degrees Fahrenheit, they seek shelter in fresh water springs or canals where water temperatures hover around 72 degrees. Despite their corpulent profile, they don’t have blubber to protect them from hypothermia.
I joined several people yesterday at Desoto Canal Park in Satellite Beach. We had come to welcome the manatees. Not a single manatee to be found here. But recent photos of the springs in Central and North Central Florida show numerous manatees, congregating in those warmer waters. I should have returned today with the arrival of the cold front. But we have other things on our minds.
Grocery stores are filled with shoppers. A good day for Brunswick stew or chili. . . . Apparently, thrift shops are filled with people looking for sheets to cover plants and blankets for feral cats. Warming shelters, operated by non-profit organizations and volunteers, are gearing up to open on these nights when temperatures drop below 45 degrees.
We complain about our freezes. But friends in Virginia and the northern states continue to endure endless days sub-zero temperatures and black ice. We may be a bit colder than South Florida, at least we we have radiators and blankets and won't have the risk of falling iguanas.
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