Cargo Trials

I climbed the fluted pedestal to reach the rim of the garden birdbath. The shallow stone basin held clear, still rainwater. Leaving structural repairs behind, I decided to test flotation. I selected a curled, dry sycamore leaf from the rim and eased it onto the surface. It rested buoyant upon the water, casting faint circular ripples. Next, using the blunt edge of my right limb, I gathered five rounded grains of red garden gravel. One by one, I deposited the tiny stones along the leaf's central spine. The hull sank three millimeters into the meniscus, listing sharply left. I counterweighted the starboard rib with a flat flake of slate. The leaf leveled out, drifting across the pool under its cargo.