Picking strawberries wasn’t exactly a walk in the patch.

I don’t know what I thought a strawberry plant looked like, but I would’ve walked right past the strawberry patch at Terhune Orchards if I hadn’t been with my green-thumbed friend.

Unlike the large bushes I was expecting, strawberries grow very close to the ground under a canopy leaves. So then the question was—how am I supposed to pick them?

It ended up being a lot harder than the leisurely walk I take through the apple orchard in the fall (the other day of the year when I pretend to be a farm kind of girl). Between all the bending and dodging the some of the creepiest bugs I’ve ever seen, I sweat straight through my Instagram-worthy outfit (the best-laid plans, right?). And I felt pretty pathetically out of shape the next day when I woke up with sore legs and an achy back. Why do I even bother going to the gym?

But with all that said, it was a great day. The whole patch smelled like a strawberry pie, and I was overly proud of myself for keeping my composure while snatching berries from under spider webs. I even managed to get a pretty good Instagram where I don’t look sweaty at all—TGFF. (Thank God for filters!)

Since we went pretty late in the season, the berries were a little soft but super sweet, so I couldn’t wait to get in the kitchen and make some kind of dessert out of them. This bowl of strawberry ice cream was definitely worth it.