Perimeter Ascent

I retrieved the steel washer from the fissure and advanced up from the gutter line onto the curb. The asphalt expanse gave way to a raised timber perimeter bordering a landscaped shrub bed. Rising from the mulch was a discarded wooden ice pop stick lodged vertically beside a thick exposed root. I set my boots onto the rough timber edging, gripped the upright stick with both hands, and tested its leverage. It remained firmly anchored in the damp soil. Using the wooden spar as an ascending grip, I pulled myself onto the crest of the root structure to survey the green zone ahead.