Picture -esque

RAIN, rain, rain! … Today was another in a series of amazingly wet days we’ve had of late, and it was great. Light rain, sprinkles, downpours, thundershowers — they all made an appearance today. While waiting for my barber to open up his shop this morning there was a lull, and being that his shop is downtown, I made a quick run around, taking these snaps.

To my surprise the weekly Farmers Market was in full swing despite the wetness. It was really great to see all the vendors with their colorful wares on display. Fruits and vegetables, especially citrus, popped under the gray skies. The deep color of a halved blood orange (upper right) gives punctuation to its table.

Also in attendance was my fave local succulent vendor, Mike Dignan. Like the produce, his juicy-leafed offerings were bringing unexpected color to the dreary day. A lemon-lime dracaena (upper right), a variety I’d never seen before, reminded me of summer with its green and yellow awning-stripes.

On the promenade, gift and antique shops seem even more quaint than usual, the cloud-veiled light lending their window dressings an air of mystery. Mrs. Tiggywinkle’s banner (bottom) sways in a slight breeze, a very brief flash of sunlight backlighting its invitation.

The Mission Inn seems even more imposing than normally, and as the clouds move across the sky its niches and other details show themselves, then recede again. Looking up at a corner tower in silhouette I imagine I’ve gone back in time and am now standing before the seat of a foreign capital.

Leaving the Inn and crossing to the Main Public Library, the Chinese Pavilion (bottom), and a lacy concrete wall screen, catch my eye. Both are ornate, but in very different ways. Looking down the street I see that my barber, Felix, has set out his sign and I hightail it there hoping the wait’s not too long.

Note: Although all the photos here look like old snapshots, they were shot on my iPhone using the hipstamatic app. To read more about it, or to download the app, click here.