A day of raking and rock eating....

Alex and I chose to be selfish, and decided to put in a lawn today. A lawn that does NOT produce money, fruit, or vegetables, but indeedily WILL produce good times of bare feet on green grass in the heat of the summer when there is not a green item around except for the green of the fir and oak trees. A great thing indeed for our little soon to be one year old.
As we raked, rock picked, and seeded a fairly large chunk of dirt in front of our house, Forrest chose to do a little sampling.
Hmmm, this acorn looks mighty tasty....oh that looks even better with mud on it!
or
That dirt clod is the best! Hey that large rock is the best to suck on!
and
Mmmmmm, dirt, mmmmm dirt.......

No joke. Everything is in his mouth. And you would think that, uhh, dirt just doesn't taste good? That he would get a taste, spit it out, and be done with it, learn from his "mistake?"

I think not. Evidently dirt and rocks taste like gourmet filet mignon in baby land, or perhaps like the most delectable homemade apple pie a la mode. And I believe he was even swallowing the stuff when I couldn't catch him fast enough. Are us adults missing something? Is this dirt really the anwser? Why buy food after all when you have dirt?

But in all honestly, I know a little dirt can't hurt a kid, and can even be good. Research shows those kids who play in dirt have a lower incidence of asthma, seasonal allergies, and allergic reactions in general.
But....I do NOT think that statistic includes actually ingesting fistfulls of the stuff.
Hmmm must be hard on his little somewhat still immature guts. I just hope he stays away from acual rocks...ughhh.
So those with kids, when did they STOP putting dirt, rocks, EVERYTHING into their mouth? And did they actually seem to like the stuff?

In the meantime, Forrest has me wondering what dirt really tastes like.....hmmmm.....eggs, bacon and a side of dirt for breakfast....