A Garden Lever

Past the edge of the patio deck, the green grass rose around my knees like a miniature forest. Near a garden hose, I spotted a wooden clothespin resting on a flat stepping stone. Its coiled metal spring caught my eye. I stepped onto the flat bottom prong to anchor it, then grasped the top arm and pushed down with my forearm. The tension resisted smoothly before parting with a dry snap, pivoting the jaws open just as a tiny black ant scurried across the stone, navigating right between them.