Photo by Kevin H.

Continuing a recent tradition, the National Park Service has amended the dates during which the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin will be at peak bloom. The new peak dates are March 29 to April 1; National Park Service Chief Horticulturalist and cherry blossom prognosticator extraordinaire Rob DeFeo had previously pegged the peak as lasting a couple more days. (It sounds like the recent topsy-turvy weather might be to blame for the shortened peak period.) The peak will still arrive slightly earlier than usual, but burrows nicely into the National Cherry Blossom Festival as a whole, which begins this Saturday and ends April 10.