Night Watch at the Gate

I leaned my back against the sturdy wooden gatepost as dusk settled over the garden dirt. A cool draft whispered right beneath the wooden slats, bringing scents of distant pavement and damp earth! Right beside my boot lay a dry, cup-shaped hazelnut shell and a tiny curled sliver of white birch bark. I scooped up the shell, nested the pale bark curl inside like a tiny white banner, and wedged it between two rough splinters right by the black iron hinge. It marks our forward night post! Resting my chin on my hands, I listened to the quiet rustle of the evening breeze outside.