Lantern Redoubt

Night protocols took priority as ambient light dropped across the cedar mulch. At the center of the shrub bed, a low cast-aluminum garden lantern stood anchored into the soil by an iron ground stake. I knelt beside its textured metal housing and set the steel washer flat against the flanged base. A curved shard of dried pine bark lay caught beneath the fixture's hood. Gripping the bark with both hands, I levered it upright across the gap between the stake and my position. It seated firmly against the damp earth, deflecting ground drafts. With my back against the lantern's cold post, the mulch perimeter is secure.