at work

The boys had been, for several days straight, for hours and hours actually, digging a hole.
They reached a layer of clay and stopped, distracted by rolling damp soil into ropes and balls.
At first they used sticks to make lollipops, but they've since experimented with cutting and carving, and their sculptures have become more intricate. They've carried buckets of water to rewet the dirt, rolled stumps to create drying racks and situated limestone slabs to serve as display shelves, setting up a fairly official art studio in the woods.
Plus, there's a mud pie business on the side, each baked in an old brick oven and carefully decorated with hand-picked flowers.
I watch them work and wonder which of these trivial details may help tell the whole story some day...