Snakes, Lizards, Alligators and More

This week there have been several news stories about alligator attacks in the state of Florida, some even causing death.  Grandma Jane first told me about them and then Phil followed up on the stories last night when we were all out to dinner.  The good news for us was that the attacks all occurred hundreds of miles from us in the southern part of the state, so we should be safe in Ocala.  Thankfully, I didn't need social media to warn me about alligators.  I had always had a healthy respect for the reptiles as I had learned two things about alligators in Florida from visiting Granny as a teenager - 1)  If there was water, there was a "gator" in it.  2) Stay away from all alligators during mating season.  Unfortunately, the attacks recently had been because someone was too close to water during the wrong time of the year.

The alligator attacks really didn't scare me, but they did get me thinking about wildlife in Florida.  Spending more time here has made us keenly aware of the difference between the animals in Northern Indiana versus the sunshine state.  Squirrels, crows and chipmunks may be annoying, but in general they are not deadly.  Since we have been visiting Ocala, Doug has had run ins with more snakes than he ever did in the Midwest.  While he was leaving for lunch just a few days, there was a black snake blocking the door to Winco making it hard for anyone to get in or out.  It wasn't his first snake encounter and won't be his last here.  We both have seen countless lizards running around.  Insects and birds are in more abundance in Florida than in the Hoosier state and bigger as well.  Thankfully, the alligators have stayed mostly in the state parks, so we have not had to deal with them much at all.  

Even though the wildlife is a little more precarious, we are both still excited about moving to Florida.  Soon we will be just as used to dealing with fire ants as the rest of the locals.  Fortunately, the northern part of the state is not home to crocodiles.  Phil told us that they are actually more deadly than alligators and more aggressive.  I definitely don't want to run into any of those.