Sequestered in Seattle, Day 431

Sunday morning, Nicole went running by herself, so I could rest my back. She reported seeing a coyote as soon as she arrived at Queen Anne Bowl, and sent a photo. Maybe that will motivate the kids to get going in the morning? My back seems fine, now.

Nicole and I went outside to finish the hangout there. Actually, Rachel had taken the phone upstairs, but she eventually followed us out. I think the premise was to replant the tomatoes with more of the stem underground to strengthen their roots, but it seems like we found other things to do, too. The pears and other plants along the side looked like they needed water, for example.

We tried to order lunch from Malena's, having once again forgotten that they are closed on Sunday. That required a new plan. We drove to Ballard intending to pick up lunch and then have a picnic. We ended up coming back to Queen Anne to eat at David Rodgers Park. There was hardly anyone there when we arrived, but a few more people came while we were there. Still, far from crowded. Where is everyone?

Next, we drove to Magnolia to get gelato. In retrospect, we should have gone straight there for the picnic, but we didn't really think things through. Nutty Squirrel is right across the street from a park, and also just down the street from the nursery, so we went there after we'd finished our treats. We didn't find any plants we needed, but Nicole remembered to get sunflower seeds. We got smaller varieties than last year's Mammoth. One is "only" 4-5 feet tall instead of 6-12, and the other is a mix of dwarf varieties.

When we arrived home, I realized that we had forgotten to drop off the library books, so I took the bike, with Rachel and Eric aboard. We detoured to see if the Fremontodendron was in bloom—yes!—, the volcano was visible—not a cloud in the sky—, and the peanut butter tree had leaves—starting to, at least.

Back at home, Eric wanted to play ping pong. I uncovered the table for the first time since winter. The cover kept it in good shape. Rachel played first while I drank some water, then I took over. We only lost one ball in the garage, and I only had to retrieve two from the rain gutter.

Rachel wrote about her encounter with the stinging nettle for her native plants magazine project, then we planted half the sunflowers, which she was surprised to learn are also native in Washington State. Then she arranged to interview Nicole and me about our interest in native plants, possibly following a suggestion from Tanya. We answered questions for about a half hour.

For dinner we made pancakes, then we had time for one episode of Merlin.