Securing the Masonry Crest

Indoor air offered nothing new. I moved past the screen door flap, crossed the flagstones, and climbed the dry masonry of the yard's low retaining wall. At the crest, an unseated piece of slate shifted slightly beneath my boots. Instability on high ground is unacceptable. In a crevice nearby, a weathered bronze padlock lay half-swallowed by dry moss. I hauled the heavy shackle across the grit and drove its curved iron bar deep under the slate slab. The rock settled with a dull snap. No wobble. From this elevation, the southern grass line lies completely exposed.