My list of "why I like living in Bothell" is growing. I feel safe again on my early morning walks, not like when I lived in Japan, but better than when I was walking in Tukwila and the South End. I'm still carrying a small pepper spray thing with me out of habit, something I started doing after a scary incident with a homeless guy alongside the Green River Trail last year. This frazzled guy with crazy eyes emerged from the bushes along the river, and when he saw my camera, he threatened to attack me. He said I was taking pictures of him. We "discussed" the situation for what seemed like forever, probably less than 5 minutes, and he had some jerky charge like moves. I started walking again, and he followed me for a bit, and then went on past me. I remember thinking "the only weapon I have is my camera", and "I don't want to break my camera!!"  

These are the only photos I took this morning - the first one was looking out the front windshield of the our car when I dropped off my Better Half at work, and the second one is the sidewalk across the street from where we live. A drizzly NW Fall morning.