HE’S BACK!! FINALLY! POPEYE (AKA BEAU)

I just don't even know what to say!! Whodathunk my Popeye Gator would FINALLY emerge on a 55° rainy day of March 28th. Certainly not me. I decided to take the long way home from a trip to Unleashed of Southport with Hazel on the Waaaaay off chance that he just might.. So thankful that I did. Oh how I have missed this wizened old warrior of mine!!

​Let me backtrack a bit…
I spotted Olive in the distant grasses so I parked and ran quickly around the back of the truck fully expecting to see just raindrops on the water's surface. To my shock and awe I found myself staring into the eyes of my big Gator. I was so surprised that I let out a yelp as I ran back around the truck getting some distance between us. The second shot is the splash where Popeye submerged as soon as I
hollered, a sort of ET moment like when Drew Barrymore came face to face with the critter and they both commenced to screaming...

​I gathered my senses somewhat and managed to get a few shots of my beloved Behemoth of an Alligator as he staked claim once more to his familiar territory…

​It seems an impossible task to portray the sheer girth of this Gator. You must look underneath the water and focus on the light colored cowl of this guy. He doesn't even look real @ times. Let me tell you this Alligator commands respect and despite his massive bulk can move as quickly as greased lightning. Don't let his stillness fool you. It's his modus operandi and it has worked for his ancestors for countless millions of years. To lie quietly in the water, sometimes with only his eyes above the water's surface waiting for that opportunity to strike his totally unsuspecting prey, dragging it beneath the surface to his domain. Not the way I care to go Ya'll…

​Last One/ Ole Popeye's namesake - the cloudy blue scarring on the cornea of his right eye that causes him to squint at times.