Tough Tangle

Pushed past the porch steps down to the yard. Smell of wet mulch and rusted iron pulled me toward the shed corner. Found a loop of stiff garden wire half-buried under crushed rock, pinning a rotted cedar peg. Snag in the perimeter. I planted my boots in the loose gravel, got both hands around the wire, and drove a claw under the loop. Dug deep, heaved back with my whole frame. Took three hard wrenches to snap the rusted kink free. Wire went slack. Pathway clear. Held my ground, listening.