Opening Day
April 17, 2009
To me, the onset of spring on a farm feels akin to opening day at the ballpark. Last year’s frustrations and disappointments fade. The air is alive with reassuring signs of rebirth and renewal. The prospects for a bountiful and successful season seem impossibly clear on the horizon before the heat of the summer sun obscures them like a mirage.
After a long stretch of cold and rainy weather, today dawned cloudless and stayed that way. Every living thing on the farm seemed to respond with a sense of euphoric urgency.
The cherries and Asian pears reached full bloom, their branches absurdly festooned with showy white flowers. The afternoon’s warmth awakened an army of pollinators who flocked to the feast – bumble bees, honey bees and orchard mason bees leading the way.
Asparagus spears emerged like rocket ships from under their bed of straw mulch. I picked my first of the season and devoured it raw to satiate my hunger after ten months of deprivation from this seasonal delight.
Morels, those unlikely and elusive delicacies of the mushroom kingdom, popped up from the forest floor. Or so my neighbor discovered. After an hour of fruitless hunting, I returned from the woods to find a small bag full waiting for me.
Seemingly overnight, songbirds reappeared from their southern haunts and sang through the day with abandon. At least three white-eyed vireos were back on territory, and the nasal cry of blue-gray gnatcatchers was omnipresent in the tulip poplar stands along the forest edge. Eastern bluebirds and tree swallows fought pitched battles for the right to occupy the nesting boxes we erected last month.
As evening approached, a deafening chorus of frogs erupted as if on cue and seemed to encircle the farm from all directions. Mostly spring peepers, I think. Their voices continue to echo even now as midnight nears.
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About The Farm At Sunnyside
Located 70 miles west of Washington, D.C., The Farm At Sunnyside grows certified organic fruits and vegetables for sale locally. Learn moreVisit Us in Washington, DC
Michelle Obama was The Farm at Sunnyside's first customer at the new White House farmers' market she officially opened last September. 
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When do you expect cherries to be available
We picked our first cherries this afternoon and expect to have them available this week at both Penn Quarter and Dupont Circle. Thanks for your inquiry and hope to see you at the market stand!