The Flag of Fall

Green gold yellow white. This display of seasonal fruits is to be found on the sidewalk outside my local supermarket, the Giant on Wisconsin Ave. If you can look at that pile of beautiful produce and decorative flora and not murmur something like, "How lucky I am to live in an environment that makes these things easily available to me!" ~ well, then I fear for your soul.

Beautiful and Occasionally Terrifying

Check out this album of unusual and fascinating cloud types. Some of them are eerie, others are downright nightmarish, and they are all beautiful.

Prettiest Niçoise EVAR

I had dinner at a restaurant called Redwood in Bethesda this evening with my friend Deb. They served me this very elegant and beautifully composed Niçoise Salad, which I enjoyed very much after I picked out all the olives.

Leaving

The dark is growing longer, and swiftly, now. Day shortens, the cold comes in, and mortality is in the air. There is a consolation, however, in the brief and intense color of the season.

Good design is a manifestation of love for the world

The person who designed this wheel clearly had an eye for beauty. Look at it, it's just gorgeous. The desire to make a mechanical device aesthetically pleasing as well as superbly functional is a gift to the world. It brings delight to the person who acquires the motorcycle. It gives joy to the passer-by. I would imagine that God in heaven is also pleased. In some meaningful ~ but hard to measure ~ way, this act of good design makes the world a better place.

Age & Beauty

I saw so many beautiful things on my walk today that I was hard pressed to pick one to share. (In fact, I will probably keep a whole slew of them in reserve for days when I fail to be sufficiently beauty-aware and need a back-up.) I chose this lady because I saw her twice on my walk, once on the way out, once on the way back. I happened to have my camera in hand the second time and took this snapshot. It doesn't do her justice, but please note the fabu glasses, the put-together ensemble, and the way she is striding forward purposefully. I can only hope I make such a good showing in the world twenty years from now.

Galactic Beauty

This is an animation is a view of the Galactic Core made from a mosaic of 88 images taken by NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory. Learn more here.

(There's also a silent, large, and higher-quality QuickTime version available here.)

Gothic Beauty

I live across the street from the most beautiful outdoor sculpture in Washington, D.C. Of course it's not actually a sculpture; it's the National Cathedral, diocesan seat of the Episcopal Church in Washington, and site of many important ceremonial occasions. It is well worth the inconvenience of the occasional infestation of limos and Secret Service vehicles to enjoy this magnificent building on a daily basis. (The inside is glorious too.)

Cold Beauty

Amazing satellite photographs of glaciers. See them all in this Wired article.

Andy Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy is one of the most astonishingly creative and elegant of "environmental artists." Please visit this digital catalog of his work. He has also published some wonderful books.

Seth in a Suit

Apparently I am become a sentimental old fogey. Behold the gloriousness that is the younger son of dear friends David & Lynn in his first adult suit. So handsome! So grown-up! I'm kvelling and verklempt at the same time!

Lovely Sister-in-Law

I spent a delightful few hours and ate a delicious meal with my brother's wife today. Thanks so much, Annika!

Good, Good Dog

This is Sammy, Jeff's dog. Sammy is both handsome and very sweet-natured. I wish this photograph were better… he strikes the most elegant and eloquent poses.

Home Beauty

My then-boyfriend gave me a present… I can't remember what it was anymore. But the wrapping included an impractically small but lovely colored scarf. I wrapped the scarf around a glass with a yellow candle in it and put the candle on an Ikea mousepad. It's one of the small things in my home that pleases me by just being pretty.

Baby Feet

I'm not sentimental about children, but sometimes the most beautiful things we make are not artifacts but people.

Universal Beauty: Deep Space

Trust me, watch the whole thing.

[Tip o' the hat: Rex55]

Corrosive Beauty

I love urban metal artifacts. They are the mark of human handiwork, and whether shiny brightwork or decaying weathered surfaces, they are frequently handsome. This particular sample, a lamppost, offers an extraordinary palette of subtle colors and textures.

Beauty's Cliché

Flowers are beauty's cliché. Perhaps it's trite to take a photograph of flowers in late-day light and call them beautiful, even though they were. These particular blooms were all the more lovely for sitting in bright blue flowerpots on the front steps of my dear friends' home. And as if that weren't enough: their fragile gorgeousness was overmatched by the hospitality within.

Something Beautiful I Saw Today

It's so easy to go through life without appreciation, despite the whole vibrating, pulsing, glowing gloriousness of the world around us. I am embarking on a daily practice of noticing and sharing beauty: one small effort to counteract the laziness of obliviousness, dismissal, and cynicism that can gradually sour our outlook on just about everything.

Some of the things I post will be my own observation, others will be links outward. I hope you will share your response with me or pass on your bits of beauty in the comments.