Awakened early, and set out for my (way) pre-dawn prowl, timing based on my sl-o-w adjustment to the five-hour time change the other day….
Pretty quiet…a few robins a-bobbing. A couple of doves cooing.
Then, out of the shadows in my peripheral vision, something coming at me across the street from a particularly gloomy spot. Ohhh I said, and jumped, and the critter quickly backed off, as I turned my head and saw that the dark ghost was just a tabby trying to be friendly. Sorry, I apologized, and talked nice, and s/he came over, and I gave her/him a scritch behind the ears.