Glad She Was Born

Happy Birthday, Jocelyn!

Ghost Season

There's something about an albino that's uncanny. This plant is both spooky and funereal.

Shiny & Clean

Shiny kettle. Clean stovetop. Aaaaaaah.

Green 'n' Rusty

Rusty? Check!
Disused? Check!
Being reclaimed by nature? Check!
By now you know: this is my kind of thing.

Haiku

Write your own.

Autumn

Fall is beautiful.

Late Exuberance

Against the autumnal tones of the stone wall, these lingering flowers are saying "Still alive, still lively, still here!" The tangle of stems and seed-buds shows no signs of surrender.

Spiffy Infographic

It's worth having a look at the full size version of this graphic depiction of space exploration missions.

House of Knowledge

The Library of Congress gives me a warm, fuzzy, proud 'n' patriotic feeling.

Camouflage of Decay

Of everything I've ever photographed in color, this log with white fungi and the gradually fading remains of a decaying leaf looks most like a colorized black-and-white image.

Light Show

You are going to want to go look at this article in Wired, and visit Alan Jaras's photostream on Flickr to see more.

Symbols

This one is a partial nod to my brother-from-another-mother PTC. I love these graphic, cryptic marks too.

Tropical Shadows

The colder and grayer it gets, the more valuable the sight of yellow light and new greenery becomes. I caught this whiff of equatorial climes by The Pool at Harrah's in AC.

Eastern Lights

Looking Up

Stained glass dome over the lobby entrance at Harrah's in Atlantic City.

Not In Use

Metal, brick, ivy: a classic combination.

A Visitor Arrives

What could be more beautiful?

End of the Ice Age

You'd never find evidence of global warming in my freezer. Well, maybe today there was some man-made global warming. I spend the better part of 14 hours defrosting my freezer.

"Defrosting." Pff. AS IF.

Deglaciering, more like. I estimate I removed 60 lbs. of ice, most of it 6 or 7 inches thick. No exaggeration. At one point I thought I was going to get crushed by a huge slab I levered off the sides but was unprepared to carry or move (especially as there were also two trays of boiling water underneath). There are still some iceberg-sized chunks melting in my bathtub.

So believe me when I tell you the most beautiful thing I saw today was the back wall of the freezer compartment.

Desert Landscape

There's a whole world of abstraction at our feet.

No Idea Why

Do not ask me why I like this pipe and the bollards. I have no idea. They just entertain me, somehow.

V is for Valiant

Some barriers are more gestural and symbolic than physical. But by now you all know I love me some rust, some genteel decay, and a gallant attempt to communicate.

Tree-Eye (Blind)

I found this creature in the sidewalk on a road near my home. I don't know who imprisoned the blind dragon in the tree, but look out if she ever gets free!

More Than Skin Deep

Flowers AGAIN? How unimaginative!

Ordinarily, I'd agree. But these roses are especially beautiful because they were a present from someone who loves me. (Can't you tell just by looking at them?)

Well-Divided Space

I had lunch in this restaurant today. I very much enjoyed how the interior was segmented in a light but definitive manner, and the variety of textures on vertical and horizontal surfaces.

Hidden Meaning

To me, this photo has the quality of a miniature symbolic landscape: slightly esoteric, imbued with an elusive significance derived from the juxtaposition of materials and shapes.

Stone Scroll

It's not an especially beautiful artifact, in itself, this lumpy bit of outdoor urnage. But here, in this corner, the subtle and muted colors of the concrete and the background converge in a pleasing way.

Patriotic

One of the things I love about living in Washington is that there are beautiful buildings and monuments everywhere. Be as cynical as you like: most of the people who come specifically to Washington to work come because they want to make a difference. You may disagree with their goals (hey, it's a free country!), but at least give them credit for giving a damn. The architecture and artwork pay homage to the motivation to serve the public good, and they do it eloquently.

Skywriting

Inscribed by wind, moisture, and the passage of airplanes, it's a message I don't know how to read. But I can admire it as calligraphy nonetheless.

A Feel for Things

Some of the most beautiful things are palettes of color and texture. This tree-bark has an astonishing and harmonious range of colors (enlarge the image for a better look), and a wonderful, almost fractal structure.

Lingering Beauty

There are still reminders of summer to be found. This periwinkle star with its vivid green tangle of stems and buds reminds me that there is still warmth and new life all around me.

Industrial Beauty

This is the loading dock for my local supermarket. What's beautiful about it? You may need to look more closely to appreciate the variegated glistening curves of the plastic, the iridescent stripes of the rolling door, the streaks of rust on the concrete, the red and white grid of bricks, the eloquent simplicity of the number 29 and platonic clarity of the white rectangle. I see functionality and decay in their perennial entropic dance.