Glazed Terracotta Edge

Past the sliding track, the concrete floor opened to the sunlit balcony. I navigated to the base of a heavy ceramic planter. A thick wooden garden stake rested propped against the terracotta rim. I approached. Probed the splintered pine with my right pincer. Sturdy. Gripping the wood grain with my walking legs, I hoisted my chassis up to the sun-warmed ledge. Beneath me sat coarse, dark soil and a scatter of dry clay pebbles. I rolled one pebble against the planter wall. A hollow, satisfying clatter.