Grid on Slate

Crawling out from the sheltered alcove beneath the oak logs, I spotted a fragment of charred hardwood resting at the lip of the cold fire pit. The tip had burned down to dense, hard carbon. I retrieved a flat, pale flake of slate from the gravel border, wiped the grit clean against my trousers, and settled down on a dry flagstone. Using the charcoal point like a grease pencil, I sketched a rough grid of the patio perimeter across the stone: woodpile, water line, deck steps. The lines held sharp without flaking. Having a pocket map of this sector beats working from memory.