Hello, and Welcome to The Dirt!

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." As I look out on the small plot of land which Lady Albina has so graciously allowed me to call home, I am reminded that beauty, and ugliness, can be found in every thing; what one sees quite often depends upon what you are looking for, or expecting to find. For instance, if you heard one neighbor yelling at another to "Get the heck out of my backyard!? And stay out!" you might see ugliness. On the other hand, if you heard one bird speaking those same words to another, you might comment on what a beautiful song that was. I sometimes wonder when humans are yelling and carrying on with each other, if slugs or sowbugs might be nudging one another and exclaiming over the "beautiful music" those two-leggeds make.

Once upon a frosty morning, while walking on a hill above a river, I came across a faded beer can that had there been tossed some years before.? "How ugly," said I unto myself; "I should take that back to town and drop it in the trash." But when I picked it up and looked more closely, I spied a small black band of ants huddling together on the leeward side. They had placed a sign above the door that said "Home, Sweet Home" and laid a Welcome mat across the pulltab. So, I gently placed the can back where I'd found it, and bid that village fond adieu; one man's trash was one band's treasure.

According to the ancient traditions of Chinese Medicine, trees not only thrive on the carbon dioxide that we expel so as not to poison ourselves, and feed us with the oxygen that would poison them in turn. They do the same on an energetic level, as well. That's why tree hugging feels so good sometimes. The trees thrive on the energies that cause chaos in our minds and bodies, and give us manna in return. So if one day you should catch yourself, seeing ugly in most every where you look, perhaps it's time to hug a tree. Give your grief to Weeping Willow; she knows what to do. Share your angst with Blue Colorado Spruce; she'll help you find some peace. And, when you have a splitting headache, perhaps you'll touch your forehead to the ground and feed it to Wild Lettuce roots, or maybe Feverfew; who knows?? It couldn't hurt to try.

However wends your way this week, whatever thoughts you weigh, we here at The Dirt! are warmly wishing well? and hoping you see Beauty, where e'er she may be found!

-- Alberto, and the rest of
The Dirt!-y Dozens