Houston to Austin

I started the day at the Rothko Chapel.  The building is octagonal and was designed by Rothko and Philip Johnson and others.  From the outside it is ugly red brick while on the inside it is just boring.  There are 15 huge paintings by Rothko on the walls, since I don't like him I was not impressed.  They were black or black and brown.  It made the place very depressing.  The young receptionist asked me where else I was going to go in Houston.  When I said I was going to see the Byzantine frescos she informed me that they had been returned to Cyprus.  They had been on loan for 15 years and were returned in March.

She told me about St Basils at the University of St Thomas.  I trotted over there to see the basilica.  It turned out to be worth it.  The basilica has a bright gold dome and an abstract cross on the side of the building.  The altar was very modern and I thought was truly beautiful.  The rest of the campus was the usual boring red brick buildings.

Then the rest of the morning was spent getting to Brenham, which is a tiny town sort of on the way to Austin.  They have what is billed as an Antique Rose Emporium.  It is a very sorry collection of rose plants for sale.  There were lots and lots of different names on rose bushes, but they were past their prime.  Also it wasn't a well tended garden center.  The people who ran it were very nice though.  I really wanted it to be nicer.

So I needed a pick me up and set out for the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.  While I was traveling I saw a bunch of vultures eating something.  They were less than 6 feet away from me.  It was fantastic!  I also decided that cattle have cliques.  You see separate groups at separate sides of pastures.  The groups have their backs to each other.

I got to the Wildflower Center and it was gorgeous.  There were every type of wildflower you can imagine.  They are put together in natural settings so that you can imagine how they would look in your area.  People are encouraged to redo their yards with self-sustaining plant material.  It was a lovely day for wandering around among the plant arrangements.  The sun was warm but the shade was pleasantly cool plus there was a refreshing wind.