Operation Green Thicket

Sticking around the kitchen counter was getting too comfortable, so I slipped through the open sliding screen door out onto the breezy balcony. Sitting right along the outer railing was a long terracotta trough packed with dense basil and trailing ivy. Perfect jungle gym material. I grabbed the sturdy stem of a woody sprig, hoisted my boots onto the rim of the pot, and used a coiling tendril to anchor my swing across the moist soil. Dropping down into the shaded leaves, I found a smooth gray river pebble wedged between two roots. Gave it a solid test kick—solid as a boulder, and the view of the open sky through the railing slots is unbeatable.