When you least expect it, a lion says hello

I volunteer my Sundays at Valley of the Kings, a big cat sanctuary.
This past Sunday was a particularly grueling day. The weather and conditions were a toss up between ice, slushy snow and bare ground. We use sleds in the winter to make it easier to transport food and garbage ( aka poop & other yuck).
The sleds work great over the snow and ice but not bare ground. I felt like an ox dragging a wagon, heave/ ho, back and forth across the compound . It kicked my butt.

When it is cold and near dusk the lions tend to go inside their enclosures, so it is usually pretty quiet. It was around 5pm, I was walking through the compound to finish a chore when I noticed one of the the Mississippi lions out near his house and staring at me. They have always been an aloof bunch and I have stopped many times to talk to them but I usually got a yawn in response to my chatter.
So of course I was intrigued, I immediately stopped and asked him if he wanted company or to talk. He then promptly walked through the feeding area and came over to where I was standing and stared me right in the eyes, face to face. I was no more than 10 inches away from him. I had no idea how massive he was until he was right in front of me and he was so beautiful it was breathtaking.
He was right next to his dinner but he was not possessive or aggressive in anyway. He continued to look at me, a very content look on his face. He let me know ( telepathically) that he just wanted to exchange energy. He knew that I was dragging, as I mentioned above, and he wanted to help. Wow, how cool is that. I

Life is Good everyone, Life is Good.
Recognize the signs/messages, because when you least expect it, a lion could be saying hello : )