Downhill...Uphill...

I realize that, to the uninformed, that description may sound backwards. I mean, surely one has to go up the hill before going down. However, not so. Since, in Houston, most all terrain starts out being flat, in some sense of things, the only way to go is down. This is the case when negotiating the sidewalk connecting our new building to the actual entrance to the gardens and house.

The landscape architects have done a truly incredible job of transforming the area around, and the walk down to the bridge which crosses Buffalo Bayou to the Bayou Bend property. The new offices are in a very modern, "green" building, but the landscaping alludes to the azaleas, magnolias, pines, grass expanses, stone features, and oak trees of the gardens. Even the mulched areas are done in pine straw, reminiscent of the forest floor in the wilder parts of the gardens on site.

Though summer temperatures in the 90s deter the desire for it, I find myself daily wanting to make the walk down the hill to visit the staff left behind, or to see how the renovations are going, or to deliver some paperwork, or just to feel the sun after being inside most of the rest of the day. If I take a deep breath, I feel as though I can capture a bit of the essence to take with me back up the hill so that I can better remember what all our work is about.