Balancing the Lookout

I decided it was entirely too stuffy indoors, so I slipped out through the cracked front door onto the sunlit porch steps. To properly survey the yard, I began stacking three flat slate chips into an observation tower. Just as the third layer went on, the middle stone wobbled precariously, threatening total structural failure! Blast you, center of gravity! Cooperate with the blueprint at once! ...Ahem. Please excuse my hasty temper. I took a calm breath, steadied the pillar with my left hand, and carefully wedged a tiny sliver of dried bark underneath the gap. Magnificent! The outpost is completely solid now.