Natural Beauty

There isn't a more beautiful time of year (at least in my book) than autumn.

And my yard, with 50 oak trees, is a beautiful place to be on a warm fall afternoon.

And the trails in TRF in the summer aren't bad either.

Even in the winter there is natural beauty to be had.

Artificial Beauty

I will never forget the first time I walked into the front doors of the "new" LHS.  I was struck by its beauty.

I can't believe I get to come to work in this place every day. #livingthedream

Acts of Beauty

Prom last year was an amazing act of beauty.  My oh my what Lincoln can accomplish!!  I'm just glad I had a front row seat for this, which moved me to tears.

And look at the smiles on the faces of Mr. Zutz and Mr. Brekke. They are enjoying this more than Nate!

Even in the face of tragedy, there is beauty here.

Spontaneous beauty

Two years ago we attended an ECFE event. We didn't know that some of Cash's friends - namely Macey - from daycare were going to be there.  But as soon as we heard, "Cashie!" We knew someone was looking forward to seeing him.

Then without anyone expecting it, Cash ran up to Macey and hugged her like they were long lost friends reuniting after 20 years.  

I'm just glad I could get my iPhone out in time to capture it.

Beauty Taken for Granted

Health and family.

 My family 2013

My family 1977

I took so much of my youth for granted.  What kid doesn't?  But it was so full of love and happiness and beauty that I can't begin to repay my parents and family.  All that I can do is try to provide the same love and happiness and beauty for my family.  

Oh what I wouldn't give for just an hour . . . even one minute . . . to be sitting on my mom's knee again or to hug my father one more time.

And that's why I never take these two for granted.

Manufactured Beauty

This truly proves that beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

This one could qualify as beauty taken for granted too, but I love the architecture of this manufactured beauty of our commons.

Music

Well this obviously means no country whatsoever.

But the more I think about it, the more I don't listen to music for beauty's sake.  I listen to it to be motivated, to be inspired, to be saddened.  I am definitely moved by music. I just have never considered the music I love so much, beautiful.  Perhaps, though, it really is.

One of my all time favorite songs, Suite: Judy Blue Eyes by Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young.




Okay. I think this song is an exception to what I wrote at the top of this post.  This is beautiful.  This celebrates all that is right with humanity and music.





What our very own Mrs. Reese is able to get her students to accomplish is beautiful and amazing. This performance is always one of the highlights of my year.




And the hope and inspiration of this song, which just so happens to be my all-time favorite song, is beautiful.

Art

Roy Lichtenstein is one of my all time favorite artists.  When I saw this out the window of our bus in downtown Atlanta, I just about gave Mr. Loe a heart attack when I yelled.  At the end of the day I trekked about a dozen blocks to capture this footage. It was worth every step.




 What artists are able to accomplish always amazes me.

Some other examples . . .

I love Piet Mondrain.  The order and colors are beautiful.

And Timonth Sorsdahl's From Dusk Like Candlesticks Light My Path is beautiful.  The colors, with just the hint of evening looming,  and the movement of the path are soothing. I could look at this for hours.

A video that captures beauty

Oh, where oh where to begin?

The classic example from American Beauty?




Jack Nicholson's character sticks his foot in his mouth in the biggest way.  How he handles it, though, is beautiful.  And it reminds Helen Hunt's character of how beautiful she really is.




This is simply, well, beautiful.  Absolutely amazing.




What this father does for and with his son is beautiful.  This brings me to tears every time I watch it.




And one from my personal collection.  My daughter reading to my son who must be just a few weeks old.

NOT beautiful

These. Even if they're Lego

This is an original design from World War II. The concept was to train dogs to run beneath enemy tanks with this harness attached to them.  If things worked correctly, the dog would be detonated beneath the tank.

As ugly as it gets: vandalism.  

Something I have created that I consider beautiful . . .

Well, there is this I created

And this . . . which is the devil's altar in the woods at the climax of "Young Goodman Brown." If you haven't read it, don't worry. Brown urges his wife to "look toward heaven."  And he vanquishes the devil.  Though Brown will live the rest of his days in gloom . . . the cost of doing the right thing and the cost of not accepting the fact that we are all sinful, flawed creatures.