A morning walk with Sallie, then DH did the trail walk with me. Nicely brisk with a northwest wind hitting us on the north side of the trail -- great for walking. Tiny bit of misty snow early morning, but no real snow today.

Here's a Downy Gentian blooming yet today on the western rail trail, Mountain. My wildflower book says "the flowers of Downy Gentian are one of the last to appear on the prairie and often survive hard frosts."

Emily Dickinson had at least two poems which included the Gentian. Here's one (Tyrian is a shade of purple):

GOD made a little gentian;
It tried to be a rose
And failed, and all the summer laughed.
But just before the snows
There came a purple creature
That ravished all the hill;
And summer hid her forehead,
And mockery was still.
The frosts were her condition;
The Tyrian would not come
Until the North evoked it.
"Creator! shall I bloom?"
                        Emily Dickinson