Pretty in Pink in Wanderings

The icy wind blew incessantly, relentless in its desire to remind me that winter was not far away. With the temperatures in the 30’s I pulled my cap down tight and hiked across the mountain. Further up the slopes, only a few thousand feet above my head, snow was falling, the first winter storm of the season.
With my head down in an attempt to keep the wind out of my face, my eyes caught a little splash of color. I immediately stopped and bent down. A smile came over my face. One lone flowering Paintbrush stood tall and proud, unashamed of its beauty, unafraid of the cold. What a magnificent and unexpected find.
I knew that hummingbirds and sphinx moths pollinated Paintbrush flowers and I wondered if the flower bloomed in vain. The moths had laid their eggs and died, and I presumed that all of the hummingbirds had all moved south. But maybe this flower was holdout, a small insurance measure for that hummingbird that was the last to leave, the procrastinator of hummingbirds if you will.
In my imagination, I pictured the tiny bird, frantic in his tardiness, near death for his lack of food. His eyes desperately scanning the autumn landscape for any flash of color. And just when all hope had left him, and death was becoming a reality, he saw it, this beautiful, fearless paintbrush, and his life was saved.
Usually, the paintbrushes I see are red, but this one was clearly pink (dare I say Hot Pink?). One of the prettiest paintbrushes I have ever seen. I wish my picture would have done it justice, but the camera focused on the background instead of the flower and the photo came out blurry.