Thursday, January 7, 2010

Even Cold In Florida! Sea Turtles.

I was looking at my news from the National Parks, when this caught my eye:

FEATURED PARK
Canaveral National Seashore, Florida
View Slideshow
"As cold winter winds whip across the north, Florida's sunny beaches become exceptionally appealing. Canaveral National Seashore, located on a barrier island off the east coast of Florida, offers a lovely escape.”

I wondered if that was true right now, and I found out that it will be 29 deg. there on Saturday, so much for “Florida’s sunny beaches”!
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=Titusville,%20FL%20&wuSelect=WEATHER

Now, I hear they are going to lose a lot of the crops in FL.  What a shame!

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Here, north of Houston, TX, it is going to be even colder tomorrow, so I thought that I had better go to the next town, today. Then I can stay indoors bundled up tomorrow.

Partly Cloudy Friday
34° F | 18° F
Clear Saturday
38° F | 18° F
 
Jay wanted to go with me, as he needed to pay their water bills.  As usual, he did his own thinking, and thought it would warm up, so didn’t wear a coat or jacket.  He was already sniffling when he got in the van, so he is probably worse by now.  I was dressed in my usual layers of cotton clothing, some long sleeved, a lined jacket, and head scarf, so I wasn’t cold.

I shopped and un-shopped at Walmart and Petsmart.  I bought Teacher, the tortoise, a cuttlebone like pet birds have. Reptiles don’t often eat it, but when they need some more calcium they will go at it with gusto.  Also I bought a little compressed bale of Timothy Hay for him.  
I just felt that he would feel better if he could burrow under something in that big bath tub of sand and coir.  Also they like to eat it, I am told.  Jay had given him his required 20 minute soak in luke warm water, and the tortoise drank quite a bit.  Funny, he won’t drink out of his water bowl, only when he is having his soak.  But apparently, a lot of turtles and tortoises do that. 
But he needs more UVB light, so I have ordered a heat/UVB lamp .  We just haven’t had any sunny days warm enough to let him outside to soak up the sun, which he needs.
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Now about the people, crops, and sea turtles:

“Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- Snow and ice dealt a major blow to U.S. air travel Thursday, while much of the nation shivered from record low temperatures.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service was keeping an eye on a dangerous mix of ice and snow expected in the Southeast, where temperatures have dipped between 10 to 35 degrees below normal for the past two weeks, said CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras.

The arctic blast that began last weekend has been blamed for at least seven deaths across the nation.
Record-breaking lows were forecast for two-thirds of the country, for most areas east of the Rockies. For some regions, even lower temperatures are on tap through the weekend, forecasters said.

"But the brunt of the cold air will ride down the Mississippi River," said CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano, reporting from Memphis, Tennessee.
Marciano said temperatures have been the lowest there in more than a decade.
"You have people not used to this weather, and homes are not built for this weather. Yesterday alone, the city [Memphis] went around to turn on the heat for homes when people have not been able to pay their utility bills."

A wind chill advisory was in effect until Friday in Arkansas, where readings were expected to drop below zero with winds of over 30 mph.

In the Deep South, Florida was under a state of emergency because of the threat to the state's lucrative citrus and vegetable industries. Gov. Charlie Crist issued an order Tuesday aimed at helping farmers salvage what they can by lifting the weight limits on trucks so already-harvested crops can more easily reach markets.

Also suffering in the cold: sea turtles. Florida Fish & Wildlife officers have rescued 120 sea turtles after water temperatures in the 40s shocked their tropically inclined systems, according to CNN affiliate WPBF.
"Their bodies are shutting down because they're too cold," Karrie Minch of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge told WPBF. "If we don't rescue them, they'll end up expiring."”
Video:  http://www.weather.com/multimedia/videoplayer.html?from=email&bcpid=823425597&bclid=877032950&bctid=60739495001
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So the poor sea turtles are suffering, too.  Teacher just doesn’t understand why I brought him in from the cold, and penned him up in a bathtub! 

So, there isn’t much going on here, today.

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