Is that frost?

What a beautiful morning! It's sunny, and from the looks of my deck, it's cold! My back lawn is covered in frost this morning, as is half my deck. This is it, folks. Autumn is upon us. The leaves on the aspens across the street make it look like the proverbial money tree, except instead of leaves made of greenbacks, the leaves are golden coins hanging from white-barked branches. Every few seconds, a golden coin falls from a branch and disappears into the underbrush. I'm convinced this is where the leprechauns get the gold for their rainbow anchoring pots.

My cat is laying curled up next to me. She is dreaming, her mouth twitching, little sounds emanating from within, her paws moving every few seconds as if in pursuit of some prey. It's funny that a cat who has never caught a mouse, or any form of prey other than a toy we drag around, or a hand under a blanket, has dreams that are obviously about chasing and catching some critter. The closest she's been to a mouse has been standing at the sliding glass door watching the squirrels play on the deck, aching to get out the door so she can eat one of them. She's an indoor cat. She can only imagine the life her outdoor counterparts lead, and apparently she does that quite often as she sleeps. She's so darned cute, and furry, and cuddly looking laying here next to me. I just want to pick her up and hug her, but she doesn't go for that. She likes to sit on my lap, likes to sleep next to me at night, likes to lay next to me when I'm on the sofa, but hates to be held. She'll bite me if I pick her up. She is, after all, a cat, with a very real mind of her own. And right now, she's dreaming, sun is streaming through the door onto her, the trees are beautiful, I have 20/20 vision, and life is great.