This is not my usual post...

I'll tell you right up front, this is not my usual kind of post. There are no sweet little babies, no cute little kids, no beautiful young ladies (not by a long-shot), and no horses, beaches, sunsets, or flowers. Just this:

Mark and Mike, his friend and co-worker, have been waiting for months for their gator hunt permits to arrive. Well, gator hunting season - permits required - has finally arrived!

Kali and I have been in the Atlanta-area for the past week helping deal with a family emergency. While we were gone, Mark was getting ready for this. Last night, Mark and Mike went out in the middle of the night and baited up seven traps. This is what they found in one trap this morning.

There you go! Two happy faces! That's a big sucker! (I guess it took the two of them to get that bad boy in the truck!)

Mark usually skins and cleans his kills. Fortunately, the processor was more than willing to handle this one. I didn't ask, but I am guessing the game and fish wildlike folks have a special procedure for processing these gators. I am just hoping we get some fine gator tail out of it. Does anyone have a good recipe for a dip to go with some yummy fried gator tail?