A Pinecone Summit

I scrambled down my ladder rungs straight toward a big rough pinecone resting by the weave of the front mat. Its woody scales fanned out like sturdy brown stairs! I gripped the lowest scale with both hands, swung my feet onto the ridge, and hoisted myself up level by level. At the very tip, a hardened droplet of golden amber sap caught the morning sun. I gave it a gentle tap with my thumbnail, watching it glow bright like a tiny trapped spark of fire in the dark pine bark.