Local Businesses and Naked Cinco de Mayo.

This week we discovered the delightfully down-home, fortunately open, and incredibly 8 minutes from our house Spivey Farms. And picked strawberries to our hearts' content, although I never did get a decent photo of said picturesque activity.

Thanks to the ten pounds of strawberries we made off with, Finley's breakfasts looked like this for awhile. Plus homemade crepes.

We also made these, and basically feasted like kings.

We spent the rest of the week, when I wasn't stuck at work, playing board games (Ben and Lisa, seriously, this is like Tierbaby Lotto and it's at Target instead of on ebay for $200);

making valiant attempts at socially distanced chalk art shows;

sneaking in a pool session with our quaran-team;

and playing in sprinklers, because NC "spring" (read: summer) is upon us.

We're also, within the mandate of the NC Stay-at-Home Order which includes exceptions for "outdoor activity," making efforts to patronize companies that are managing to stay open responsibly. 

One such is Endor Paddle, which provided terrific contact-free tubing dropoff and clean equipment on the nearby Deep River.

Seth took one for the team in a big way, but we had a great time on the (still chilly) river as a family

and discovered a part of Lee County we would likely never have explored otherwise.

Our "local business quest" also took us to Angier, NC, close to where I went to law school and where F+F and I discovered Sunni Skys Ice Cream;

were attacked by ferocious ducks and geese;

and managed a solid 15 feet on Finley's bike without training wheels (or tears).

We realize we're behind the power curve on this, but she's a really big chicken.

Seth also chose this close-quarters time to begin his massive and malodorous kitchen fish-pickling operation, much to my chagrin (and his peril if it keeps up),

and we squeezed in as much lake time as we could, with temperatures dropping and work schedules likely to return to normal soon.

We had lakeside Cinco de Mayo fish tacos tonight, one of our best and sandiest celebrations yet,

and I took the (uncensored) photo of the week and maybe of the decade, of Finley and Ford being... Finley and Ford.

Hope everyone is hanging in there.