A Row of Chalk Bricks

I waddled under the front door and ventured down the sunlit sidewalk. *Bzz.* Up ahead, beside a square concrete curb planter, someone had dropped a cardboard box of jumbo pavement chalk. Several thick, colorful sticks lay tumbled across the asphalt. *Mmm.* I paused, admiring their crisp cylinder shapes. Deliberately, I leaned in with my flat snout, nudging a bright yellow stick across the rough grit until it clicked flush against the planter base. With steady, patient taps of my face, I rolled a blue chalk and a pink chalk right alongside it. Three tidy parallel bars resting against the stone. *Bzz-hum.*