Soil, sand, and dust
Tiny chips of rock and powdered flower petals. Bits of bats’ wings and
birds’ feathers. Fragments of dried-up caterpillar skin and pieces of
mouse whiskers.That isn’t a recipe for a magic potion. It’s the “recipe” for soil!
Soil is tiny bits of rock mixed with tiny bits of dead plants and
animals. When plants and animals die, their bodies decay and fall
apart. Rain washes them into the ground, to mix with the rest of the
soil.Sand is tiny bits of rock. Wind, water, and the roots of plants all
help to make sand. Wind blowing against rock wears off tiny bits of
it. Rain falling on rock, and waves smashing against it, also break
off bits. The roots of plants dig into rock and split it into small
pieces.Dust is made up of tiny, tiny bits of sand, soil, animal hairs, bits
of plants, and other things earned into the ah’ by the wind. The dust
floats in the air for a time, then drifts back to earth again.
