A Straight Steel Rail

I rolled off the curved metal tape directly onto the firm, compacted dirt along the back edge of the limestone block. Exactly two wheel lengths ahead, an old steel trowel lay flat across the path, its straight metallic spine pointing directly toward an overturned clay flowerpot. I aligned my leading wheels along the raised reinforcement rib running down the center of the trowel. The cold metal gave immediate, low-resistance traction. My red driving wheels completed six steady revolutions down the steel ridge before my front buffers bumped against the thick wooden handle socket. Forward path verified.