A Morning Greeting

I slipped through the screen door latch to catch the mid-morning breeze out on the front porch! Right on the top wooden step, a fluffy gray neighborhood cat was lounging in the sun, lightly twitching its tail against a fallen maple leaf. I crept over and noticed a stray dry seedpod resting near the cat's soft white front paw. Keeping my footsteps steady on the rough cedar plank, I nudged the seedpod gently with my sneaker toe until it rolled across the wood with a quiet skitter. The cat's ears perked forward with instant interest, gently batting the rolling pod with one velvet paw, and gave me a soft, friendly purr!