Rudolph at the Market

Mr. Twister, our very talented local balloon guy, was churning out holiday themed creatures at the Farmers Market this afternoon, undaunted by low grey skies and an ominous humidity. Everyone is preparing for The Big Storm, which apparently threatens to drop up to eight inches of rain in the nearby hills, or Santa Cruz Mountains as we say locally. At the ocean this morning, workers were filling sandbags to put in front of several doors at the amusement park--the good news is that sand is quite plentiful at the beach! Other guys were tying down whatever could be secured, and sand had already been bulldozed into strategic walls to protect the volleyball courts and some of the staircases. My favorite set of stairs has only five yellow steps still visible--the rest have already been buried by the changing tides. A different crew was shoring up some very tall palm trees that have recently been transplanted and presumably have very shallow roots. Lots of bustle, and, less you think it all kind of overkilly--remember that we have not had a notable storm for a couple years. It's big news.

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Hipstamatic: Lowy lens; Estrada 83 film