A Solid Barrier

Set off down the garden path early. Gravel crunching under each stride gave good feedback. Halfway toward the rear boundary, a fallen oak branch blocked the entire track. Thick bark, dead weight. Instead of turning back, I braced my shoulder into the crook where two smaller limbs met. Planted the back boot firmly into packed dirt and dug in. It resisted at first, but with steady, leveraged force, the wood scraped aside with a low rumble, leaving a clear corridor ahead.