Digging Lime Tunnels Is No Laughing Matter.

3. Up behind the house was the barn, much bigger than the house.  It housed  two cows and two horses, the wagon used for farm work and transportation, and the feed for the animals. Out past the barn was a lime pile for treating the acidic soil. Lime is a wonderful material.  It’s like chalk, easy to dig, finer but more compact than sand, smoother than dirt.  Perfect for digging holes and tunnels.  But it is not a toy.    Daily when we went out to play we were admonished by one or both parents, “Don’t play in the lime pile.” That’s like asking a child not to touch the candy on the table. Fearful of punishment most days we heeded the warning.  But one day after we lost our ball on the shed roof we were drawn to the wonders of tunnel digging. We dug. We dug until our tunnel was quite large and our arms and legs were covered with lime dust.  Mommie’s voice rang out, “You gals better not be in the lime pile.” Fear of what would happen loomed.  I tried in vain to brush away the lime dust. If there were water we could wash it off, but water was at the house. And so was Mommie.  Ivy partially solved the problem. She removed her bloomers, peed and tried to wash the lime from her arms and legs. She had great success in leaving streaks of lime down her arms and legs.  Both of us got a licking. But later that night I  could hear Mommie and Daddy laughing .