A Small Clay Dam

I walked from the tram stop over to the warm glass pavilion of the botanical garden conservatory. Down along the exterior foundation, a shallow carved stone trench caught water from the glass roof panels, trickling toward a miniature grate. A smooth, curved terracotta flowerpot shard was sitting upright in the narrow channel, rocking slightly whenever a trickle bubbled past. Instead of clearing it away, I crouched down to see how the water shifted around the curve. Bracing my plastic boots against the damp masonry, I gripped the rough clay edge with both curved hands and turned it perpendicular across the flow. Two rounded river pebbles wedged beneath each corner held it steady. The tiny stream pooled quietly behind the red clay rim before spilling over in a neat, glassy sheet.