This was a Zinnia in her prime almost two weeks ago. She’s now struggling and will continue to do so until the first frost takes her; but, as with most of us, she would rather be remembered at her peak. Tuck away the memory of her youthful beauty for winter musings.
By the way, Zinnias are Mexican in origin and were named by Swedish Botanist-Taxonomist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) in honor of his contemporary, the German Botanist and Anatomist Johann Gottfried Zinn (1727-1759). (Brooklin, Maine)