Fallen with the mercury

Casualties of the cold, wind-shriveled leaves from our pink mussaenda littered the garden floor before I raked 'em up in chilly fingers this morning.

Not surprising, I suppose, since the plant's minimum range north is Hardiness Zone 9B. (Our typical weather puts us in either 10 or 11, depending on who you ask.)

Still, worse things than leaves could have dropped. This morning's Keynoter said residents all through the Keys were picking up fallen iguanas, knocked out of their trees by the cold. A biologist said they weren't dead, just stunned for a good long while, and cautioned against bringing them indoors to revive, pointing out the harrowing tale of a woman in Marathon who'd pulled a comatose 5-footer into her house. It was not happy when it started stirring again.

The same biologist pointed out that since iguanas aren't native here -- they're invasive, in fact -- folks should feel free to euthanize them humanely: Pack 'em in a cooler with some dry ice, and let the carbon dioxide do its deadly work while they're still out . . . um, cold.

The things you learn in the tropics.