Loam
My favorite high school teacher taught Shakespeare, and I remember her saying that her favorite word was loam. Loam has a particular way of rolling off the tongue, a richer, deeper sound and mouth-feel than dirt, or even soil. A certificate in permaculture design later, I actually understand what the term means, and how much life is contained in it. I know the look, feel, sound, and percolation rate of my own soil, some of which is actually loam. This being Marin County, it also has a hefty amount of clay, but I’ll take what I can get.
