Puzzler Revisit And FC's Coldness

Thanks to all who tangled with the video puzzler this week.
Below is a still shot of the same scene.

The feral pigs were fairly distant from my location, but I took one of the better pics and cropped it way down to bring in the rooters.

Pretty clear that they are pigs now, but that wasn't so obvious in the short grainy video.

All Florida feral hogs are of European descent ... although I'm sure that somewhere in Florida, there is probably a feral Asian Potbelly pig or two by now.
Either way, they are destructive exotics and do tremendous damage to some of our most threatened native species.
These are in Payne's Prairie State Preserve and should have been destroyed by the park service.
Ain't never gonna happen tho.
Park Services, whether state or federal often care more about fluffy sentiment than preserving the native species.

I won't rant too long on this, but ...

Every dead invasive exotic is a good exotic in the cold, hard FC view.

Seems cruel, but I'm focused on the big picture for Florida's environment. That is the silver lining of all the extreme cold this week. It won't affect the feral mammals like hogs and cats as much, but the exotic plants and cold blooded exotic animals should take a hit ... and maybe even the feral parrots too.
If this cold pulse can move far enough south and hover for a while, perhaps the population of water hyacinth, maleleuca, Brazilian pepper, burmese pythons, iguanas, cuban anoles, budgies, walking catfish, oscars, tilapia, etc will be reduced so we can try to get the upper hand.

I am one cold-hearted SOB when it comes to invasive exotics in my Florida.


It's a double-edged sword, this cold.
The price of winter veggies, citrus, and tropical fish may rise after this as they are all farmed in south Florida and all cold sensitive.

Here at PFHQ, my exotic, but not invasive citrus have taken a hit. They will recover as I only grow a few cold tolerant types,but they are NOT happy. Aunt Florence's heirloom guava is dead down to the roots. It will resprout in the spring. I never get fruit from it, it's just a reminder and a connection to my late aunt. (never get fruit because it never gets old enough due to freeze damage)
The banana tree is brown and with luck and mulch, it will resprout too.
Even the foliage on that giant bamboo I planted is nipped a little.

On the positive side, cold like this gives us rare chilling hours for deciduous fruit trees like peaches, blueberries, pears, etc. Could be a good year for my blueberries unless a late freeze zaps the blossoms ... which is very likely THIS winter, but for now, they are resting so it's no big deal.

Speaking of exotic species ... George Perry's 77 year old largemouth bass record has officially been tied in JAPAN! Ironically, OUR largemouth bass is an exotic there, and so is the bluegill that the Japanese angler used for bait.
All over the United States, bass anglers are gnashing their teeth ... especially the anglers with a backyard pond supporting a few female largemouths that they have tenderly cared for, all the while hoping to raise a fish over 22 pounds 4 oz.
Their plan is to monitor their fish until one is over the record, then don a bunch of name brand fishing clothes, hat, sunglasses, etc before grabbing a name brand rod and reel, line, and lure. Next, they will hop in a (you guessed it) name brand boat/motor, trailer,truck, combo and catch that fish.

Then you live off the product endorsements ... it's the bass lottery.
You think I'm kidding ...