Over the weekend Michael & I went strawberry picking for the first time as a couple. We both went with our families when we were much younger, and although we’ve visited plenty of local farms to pick up strawberries when they’re in season, we’d never actually shared the experience of picking them together until Friday.

We visited Maxwell’s Farm in Cape Elizabeth – the farm we love driving or riding our bikes by in June because you can smell the strawberries right from the road. It was surprisingly busy at 9am on a Friday morning, and there were even more people arriving as we left! I followed Michael to a nice, quiet section of the fields, where we began our adventure in picking. There seemed to be quite the contest to see who could pick the most perfect looking strawberry (I maintain that I was a clear winner in this contest) – in the end, we ended up picking quite a lot of these perfectly shaped beautiful, bright berries, and have enjoyed eating them on just about everything sense! They’ve accompanied our morning oatmeal and daily salads, and have made the perfect topping for an angel food cake we picked up at Whole Foods. Strawberry pie & strawberry jam are both on our list of things to make this week as well.

Local friends should check out this weekend’s Strawberry Fest at Maxwell’s Farm, sponsored by the Cape Farm Alliance. We’ve been nearly every year since we’ve lived in Maine, and love attending. There are delicious desserts, local artists showcasing their work, live entertainment, and, of course, plenty of strawberries. Best of all – Flatbread Company is on site serving pizza out of their portable stone oven!

Most of all, if you have a chance don’t forget to run over to Maxwell’s and pick a few berries for yourself while they’re still in season. Nothing beats fresh strawberries in the early days of summer!