Mapping the Dry Trail

I pushed through the patio screen door's rubber flap and surveyed the open terracotta expanse. Dusty terra-cotta tiles stretched out under the midday sun like an untamed canyon rim. Slipping backward across the grit in a slow, calculated reverse glide, my boots found steady traction. Right by the leg of a cedar planter, I discovered a fallen terracotta pot shard and an overturned plastic plant saucer full of dried sand. With deliberate poise, I dragged a sturdy dried twig through the grit, tracing out the ridge lines of this new desert route.