Seasons

In the Midwest we had Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter seasons. In rural areas we also had planting and harvest seasons. But down here in Florida we have a new division of time. Currently we are in the moment when Love Bug Season meets Hurricane Season. I'm rather hoping that the upside of that convergence is that the love bugs will stop their passionate mating and swarming and the hurricane will blow them out to sea.

Car wash enterprises are as busy as retail stores the day before Christmas. Trying to get smushed bugs off of grills and windshields can become a consuming passion when driving down I-4 and all you can see is bug guts smeared across the windshield. Any price seems reasonable if someone else will remove their little innards from your car. I hear that the bodies turn to cement and must be chipped off if someone takes too long getting around to washing them off.

Florida's seasons also refer to wet and dry. We're entering the rainy season, just left the dry or as some of us call it 'fire' season. Hopefully today's mild rains are enough to extinguish the multiple scrub fires that have ignited across Central Florida.

Whatever season we're in. My three cats and I have learned a secret to judging how severe or risky the day will be. We watch the anoles. Those adorable little bug-eating lizards with detachable tails. Nothing seems to shake them out of their complacent lives, except maybe the shadow of a hawk hovering too close. Otherwise they go about business as usual.

When the anoles disappear, its time to start preparing for nasty weather. Thankfully the anoles look blissfully happy.