Closer To Apogee, Missoula, Montana

" 'The Scarlet Pimpernel, Mademoiselle,' he said at last, 'is the name of a humble English wayside flower; but it is also the name chosen to hide the identity of the best and bravest man in all the world, so that he may better succeed in accomplishing the noble task he has set himself to do.' " -Baroness Orczy, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Ch. 4

Wayside Flower, Middle of Montana

One of my all-time favourite books & movie is "The Scarlet Pimpernel" by Baroness Orczy. A "scarlet pimpernel" is famously described as "...a humble English wayside flower...", and is the undercover pseudonym of the Baroness's fictional hero of the French Revolution, Sir Percy Blakeney. (The story still inspires some hard-core fans, as you'll see if you click on the text links I've included!)

These humble wayside flowers of Montana are more at a black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta).While I haven't heard that they've inspired any literary superheros, they were favourite characters of my childhood walks to town, smiling with unfailing cheer from the grassy ditches lining our dusty, country road.