Here, Lizard, Lizard!

Guess what, y’all?

I moved to FLORIDA!

I can hardly believe it myself. This is my current life right now:

But what I really want to do is play! Do all the Florida things.  It’s probably a good thing that we are on a tight budget right now. Keeping up with two houses isn’t a picnic. We are hopeful we’ll be able to sell the Indiana house soon. 

In the meantime, Mr. Himself is working super hard out in the Florida heat. He is able to take the twins with him, which is a huge blessing. It feels so awesome to finally be here after all the dreaming and planning. 

But back to lizards. If you don’t like lizards, don’t come to Florida. They are everywhere. My back enclosed patio always has at least half a dozen scurrying along the screens or floor.

It’s a good thing I grew up in Kansas and spent time in Oklahoma and Texas and played with lizards as a kid. They don’t scare me at all. I think they’re hilarious. They’re so fast! And when they run with their tail sticking straight up it’s extremely amusing. Catching them by the tail would not only be practically impossible, but fruitless, as lizards lose their tails to escape and soon grow new ones. 

How weird is that?

Reptiles are fascinating creatures. There are lizards with no legs and snakes with mini-appendages that biologists call vestigial limbs. As if boas and pythons weren’t terrifying enough, they have vestigial hind limbs that they use to help them mate. (EEEK!)

Here’s a picture of a lizard that looks like a worm called the Florida Worm Lizard. These are not the lizards I’m referring to when I talk about not being afraid of them. This thing looks like something out of a horror movie. 

Florida Worm lizard

Source: http://www.wildflorida.com/wildlife/lizards/Florida_Worm_Lizard.php

And here’s a glass lizard. 

Eastern Glass Lizard

Source: http://www.wildflorida.com/wildlife/lizards/images/EasternGlasslizard463.jpg

These legless lizards are not the ones I am not afraid of. If I saw these I’d probably think they were a snake. And while I’m not afraid of snakes when I come upon one expectantly, I do not like finding them slithering about unannounced. 

But back to lizards. These are the cuties that I found running about my yard and patio when I let the dogs out this morning:

Brown anole

Source: http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Cuban-Brown-Anole-No-Longer-Evolving-Scientists-Say/

File:AcarolbrIV.JPG

Source: Wikimedia

Those pictures are deceiving. They are really quite small or maybe I’m just seeing babies on my patio. Also, they aren’t even native to Florida. They’re Cuban! That makes me laugh, too. I’m easily amused. 

Well, I guess I better get back to unpacking. Stay tuned for more adventures from my new life here in the Sunshine State!

Comments 5

  1. Curious minds want to know how you wound up in Florida, Karla! 😉 I hope
    it will be a great place for you to be! Little lizards are funny. Though you should
    see the pictures of the ones my son saw in Kuwait. Harmless, but rather
    large, ugly, and they would scare me if I ran into them.

    1. Post
      Author

      Hi, Kathleen! My husband got a job here and he continues to work to help build churches in the Philippines. We are “making tents” here in Florida now. Huge culture change here! I agree with you: the size of the lizard correlates to the level of terror for sure!

  2. I love your meme with the alligator. Yes, knowing the difference is important! As a Floridian, I enjoy the little ones, too. They’re harmless and they dine on the Florida state bird (the mosquito), as well as other critters of the insect variety. They sneak into the house sometimes (there’s a verse in Proverbs about them). When I find them inside, I try to catch them, but I usually have to wait until they’re close to starvation and barely able to run. They recovery quickly, once they’re back outside. Our daughter found them to be cool living earrings, since they have no teeth. The poor things clamped their little jaws on her earlobes for dear life until we made her release them. The black snakes keep rodents away, so they’re the good guys. They’re shy and you’ll rarely see them. Iguanas are proliferating in south Florida, so you might not spot many, or any, of them where you are. I understand they taste like chicken. They’re considered a delicacy in other countries. So there you are. I’m happy that you like our friendly critters, and I heartily welcome you and your family to Florida!

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