A Boy and His Empire Of Dirt

Our Florida property is undergoing considerable earthworks presently - in the form of a large chasm that has been excavated for a pool. The contents of that chasm form small mountains around the yard, connected by deep tread marks in the ground from the digger - quite an eyesore.

Unless you are my four year old son!

He has been as busy as a blue-arsed fly since the formations first appeared. He has conquered every single one of them, and I think he has managed to drag half of the toys he owns to the summit of each one. I noticed his scooter was at the top of one last night...can't wait to see the scabs on his knees after gravity gets involved with that stunt.

There is no pore on his skin that has been left untouched- a light caking of gray Florida loam has encased his body...stuck there by his concoction of squeezing oranges from our very late blooming tree, into the back of his Tonka tip truck, and then mixing in dirt. This forms a sticky mass that he takes glee in flicking around the yard.

It's fascinating to watch him as he trapses around the worksite. He happily chats to himself as he wanders, pausing occaisionally to squat and examine some new discovery, and if deemed valuable, transfer it to his wagon where it will eventually be hauled to the top of one of the piles.

My son is sans Playstation or any of the mod cons of childhood this week - all he needs is a cold glass of water every couple of hours and his empire of dirt.

And a bath.