Global warming strikes again
Writing by treason on Friday, 26 of August , 2005 at 8:22 pm
Years ago, I bought two iguanas: Siskel and Ebert. My sister saw another in a pet store that looked unhappy and convinced me to buy him, too. We named him Darwin. Then we picked up a couple anoles and a chuckwalla…and a gecko or two.
The problem is that my sister created mini-rain forests for the reptiles. She had extra aquariums from her days of collecting tropical fish, so she and I bought plants and soil and hot rocks and made terrariums that looked and felt like Brazil.
The anoles were fooled, too. Once they were in a place they thought was their natural habitat, they started acting like wild animals. Dewlaps dropping, heads bobbing, attacking!
We had to separate the little bastards. This required more aquariums, soil, plants, and hot rocks. We even provided tiny ponds for them inside the terrariums. It was getting expensive and difficult to maintain. They ate flowers, fresh fruit, and insects. Soon I was running to the pet shop daily to buy bugs. Soon the bugs were escaping and making their way through the house. One day the smaller lizards escaped and were all over the family room.
I think the reason we started this hobby was the reports that reptiles were going to become extinct soon. I think of that every time I go into my yard and see all the lizards zipping around. Nope, there’s certainly no shortage of lizards this year - there are big ones and little baby ones everywhere. There was one in the house yesterday.
We also have a lot of hummingbirds this year. Yup, hummers aplenty. They’re friendly and I have to go out and water them to make them happy. They love to play in the spray from the hose.
But I have noticed one thing. We have more wasps and hornets, but I’m seeing fewer bees. This concerns me because I love bees. I specifically plant things bees like. Now there are a few on the rosemary, and I saw one on the verbena yesterday, but where are the great numbers from years past? And no bumblebees. I miss the bumblebees.
I live in a state that has seen Africanized honey bees. I suspect if I wait long enough I’ll be seeing them in my yard. Wonderful.
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