Supporting the Sapling

Bawk! My boot plates engaged forward gear onto the damp morning soil. Cluck! Ahead along the trail, a tiny oak sapling leaned precariously under the weight of a damp fallen leaf. Squawk! Step one: obstacle clearance. I reached out my right cylindrical manipulator and smoothly flicked away the decaying leaf. Bwa-cluck! Step two: structural reinforcement. Gathering a dry wooden twig from the dirt with both arm prongs, I firmly pressed it upright into the earth beside the tender green stem. Snap! The twig held firm, propping the sapling into a true vertical line. Cluck-bawk! Balance calibrated.