A Hearth in the Mulch

Leaving the kitchen behind, I hopped down the exterior stone steps into a sheltered nook of the courtyard to build something of my own. Beneath the ivy, I gathered three flat, rectangular shale stones. With patient, measured nudges of my wings, I stood two stones upright on their narrow edges, seating them firmly into the dark mulch. Next, balancing the third flat stone against the curve of my wing, I slid it across the top to form a sturdy roof. Underneath the little arch, I carefully stacked four dry birch twigs in a crisscross pattern, just like miniature kindling. Stepping back, my tiny stone hearth stood remarkably solid.