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Friday, December 11, 2009

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder





'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder' is something my mom repeated to me over and over when I was a kid growing up. Actually when I return home she still quotes it to me. It's right up there with 'Chacun à son goût' (each to one's own taste) and 'Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone'. But today when I was climbing Pyramid I actually thought about beauty. And my mom is right - beauty is biased by who we are, and we all certainly do not appreciate the same things.

I know that I love winter on Kodiak and I also know that many people do not. Today as I climbed Pyramid I was struck by the stark beauty of the ice and light. It got me thinking about how boring I find it climbing the mountain in summer. It's always raving green and just varies between dry and soaking wet (and always brushy). Sometimes the clouds can be awesome, but, in general, I find the scenics in summer pretty drab. Not so in winter - one day the mountain is covered in powder the next in ice. And the light is always low on the horizon. What's not to love about winter? But then again 'Chacun à son goût'. My mom is always right. Patrick

2 comments:

Marnie said...

Ah! Is that that ptarmy I ate for dinner?! Yummy. Thanks Patrick. Can I use the photo of it on my blog? I want to do an entry about eating all the local goods that have been passed on to me.

Zoya said...

This is one that I did not shoot - but feel free to use the photo. I'll email you the picture. Patrick