Mexican sun

We've been hearing about the terrible winter storm battering parts of the US today and secretly gloating because, after several days of mist and rain, we're finally getting some nice weather here.  The fog that lay over the valley this morning was a mere shadow of its former self; it lifted quickly and left us with cornflower blue skies and heat.  Lots of heat.  We descended from our cool foothill retreat to a couple of lower spots today, and cooked!  But the flowers were glorious and the butterflies fluttered everywhere, drunk on nectar.  At Casa Turire, I spotted these Mexican sunflowers (Tithonia diversifolia), which reminded me of the ones we grew in our garden a few years ago.  The Monarchs absolutely loved them.  Note to self: must grow some more this year.