A Ring of Cedar Bits

I pushed past the bottom gap of the back door and walked down into the open yard. Near the legs of the weathered potting bench, the breeze had gathered a handful of tiny red cedar wood shavings across the slate tiles. I paused, smoothing my fringes flat against my dress before kneeling down. With slow, steady touches, I picked up four curved shavings one by one. I nestled their tapered edges together until they formed a tight, pale wooden ring around a sleeping beetle in the moss.