The fall season is fast approaching, which brings weekends filled with hayrides, pumpkin patches and apple cider. But thousands of people are savoring the last sunny days of summer — traveling to a Maryland field, a sight so beautiful, it stops traffic.
At first it looks like a crime scene.
"Yea, the police aren't too happy about it," says Brandon Fritz.
There are police officers, the media and a mile of tape trying to keep people from stopping.
But, when you have something so yellow, the only thing you can do, says Fritz, "You can't not stop I mean you have to. It's like the 8th wonder of the world."
"It's just like a sea of yellow," says Cameron Franzoni. The 17-year-old is in charge.
"I guess I'm in charge," says Franzoni.
His family owns the land.
"There's a ton of people here. It's really crazy there are police everywhere. I'm just trying to sell some sunflowers," says Franzoni.
This farm, located north of Baltimore has more than a hundred acres of sunflowers.
It's become a major tourist attraction.
"When we pulled up I just see a whole bunch of color," says Alex Dorisca.
Everyone comes to take pictures. And, exchange green for yellow.
"I think I've clipped well over 700 flowers," says Brandon Fritz.
Fritz is one of the workers.
"I mean it doesn't get much better than this."
He is so busy it's hard to keep up with him.
"And I've been working for three days now sun up to sun down," says Fritz.
Sunflowers only bloom for a short time. In just a few days all of this will be gone.
"They're pretty," says Franzoni.
The only person a tad stressed out is Franzoni. When you're in charge of more than 2 million sunflowers and a field full of tourists, a person can have sunflower nightmares.
"I actually do. No, I'm serious. last night I woke up about 3 times," says Franzoni.
Of course, not all crops are treated equally. Just across the road is a perfectly good looking corn field — that's being completely overlooked.
"Poor corn," says Alex Dorisca, as he stands in the middle of the sunflower field.
"The corn is on the short end of the straw today," says Fritz.
But, the corn is not the only thing being ignored. When you're surrounded by this much beauty — even a
6-foot-6 Super Bowl quarterback goes unnoticed. Like everyone else, Baltimore Ravens' Joe Flacco just wants to stand in the middle of happiness.
The sunflowers won't last long. Peak bloom ends this weekend.
The Sunflower Farm is located north of Baltimore in Monkton, Maryland — at the corner of Hess Road and Jarrettsville Pike. It's directly across the street from a Royal Farms convenience store. The Royal Farms address is 3209 Jarrettsville Pike, Monkton, Maryland.
