whats the deal?

yesdarday i found what looks like dirt or mud, and not oil, underneither the hood of my car. i just yanked a pic off cardomain and used paint to put where the dirt is on. me car also made this strage possible electrical noise that was in sync with the engine coming from aroudnt he same place as the dirty. I think the noise could be my alternator, but the previous owners put in a new alternator less than 2 years ago. if anyone has any clue please fill me in
http://www.angelfire.com/pa/jfourx/dirtyass.JPG

Mine does it do. Best i've been able to tell is when the car is in the rain, water hits the alternator belt and gets flung around the engine bay. Its never really caused me any troubles I just clean the engine bay about once a year.

BTW alternators can sometimes make weird noises, sometimes its normal sometimes its not. But in 2 years some remanufatured units can go bad, its rare but possible.

the snow is melting and that makes some sence, it doesn't affect the way the car is running or anything. thanks for putting my fears to rest

Thats also right above your timing belt, so you may want to take a look at that. It cant hurt just to look.