Sunday, July 6, 2008

The Peat Pit


I think its well established that playing in the dirt with trucks is one of P's favorite pastimes. And while he's traversing his anti-peer stage (that pretty much cuts out playground sandboxes), we figured a private one in Kansas would be immensely popular. One summer solstice later and P is the proud owner of a groovy, lidded Peat Pit.

Did you know most play sands are cancer causing? Hold on, I know, this sounds ridiculously alarmist. But as an ex-ceramicist, lung cancer from toxic dust is a pretty real reality (ceramicist have a ridiculous rate of lung cancer.) Once upon a time, sand was sand, seashells and all. Now, play sand is often ground up quartz, also known as crystalline silica , a known carcinogen that carries strong warnings from OSHA. When my mom checked at the local hardware store for Safer Sand they scoffed at her concern - and the big box stores still sell the sick stuff sans warning. And unfortunately, the safe stuff in beach free states like Kansas costs a billion dollars per pound.

Fortunately, P loves plain o'l dirt and has been hankering to hang in some peat moss since we planted our cosmo seeds this Spring. So peat moss it is. Hopefully he'll appreciate the sand sacrifice when he's a teen and eyeing a cigarette :)

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