I took a walk during a brief sunny spell this cold afternoon, along 16th Street over to Mission and then up Mission past the many small produce markets.
Pasted to the plywood barricade outside a building site I found this collage-and-paint raccoon. (There really are raccoons here in the city, and they are big and fierce, but only to be seen in the middle of the night.) My general rule is not to post pictures of animals, but I make an exception for this representation because it must have been conceived and executed by the same person who did the soldier-with-cell-phone I posted a couple of weeks ago here. Such solid, interesting work – yet destined to be pretty-well obliterated by the next rainstorm.
Then the instant the sun started its early dimming and setting behind the hills of San Francisco, the streets became much colder and I stuffed hands in pockets and made my way back to Spencer Alley where there is plenty of heat, even if it is shockingly expensive. What can you expect up here on the top floor with such high ceilings and loose-fitting wood-framed sash-windows? It's an old building, poorly insulated, the farthest thing from fuel-efficient. But at least the heaters work, and so far there has always been enough money for the utility company.