I have been bombarded for months by emails from a certain female doctor with claims for miracle products to restore youth, health and beauty to women of all ages. One of these just happened to coincide with a run-in with an unusually well-lit mirror. I sent for the stuff.
I do, indeed, after only a few applications, see and feel a difference in the texture and quality of the skin on my face. A closer reading of the literature included with the product reveals that it comes from "deep-sea Centrophorous sharks that live in the clean, non-polluted waters of Tasmania". Hence the conundrum: is this akin to wearing those wonderful after ski boots, even knowing that they only exist because some thug was willing to weild a club at a defenseless baby seal?
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Back when my gardening took place on an exposed corner lot in industrial NW Portland, people would often stop by to declare “We could never do this! We live in the country, and the animals destroy everything!” Guess what? We now live in the county. Today, I will share with you a piece of writing I did when we lived in the city, and tomorrow I will update you on my newly countrified stance. Consider the rare and elusive mole. If you have an expanse of lawn regularly punctuated by domes of fresh earth, you may dispute the use of the word “rare”. Think about it. The mounds are evidence of mole activity, sure, but how many times have you seen the critter himself? I’m pretty sure you would have a hard time maintaining a high level of indignation if ever you came face to face with one of the little fellers. A mole has a gray coat leaning towards brown…one of those subtle tones favored by Calvin Klein. It is eiderdown soft. Mr./Ms. Mole looks like a puff of smoke with a delicate, pink snout and a pair of outsized paddle-shaped front paws specially adapted for tunneling. Moles are classified as insectivores, meaning they exist on a diet of many of the culprits you are hot to exterminate. With their tunneling, they improve soil aeration and drainage, all the while circulating soil minerals. So what’s the harm of a mound or two, on balance? 
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