Good morning and welcome to Orchid Friday here at Sunrise Santa Cruz. This is not to be confused with Orca Thursday, which was just a killer day. I thought in honor of the big NFL conference championships this Sunday we’d end the week with a little play by play and a lot of color. Shots #2, 3, 5 and 6 were taken out at Maplethorpe Orchids in Soquel. If you like warm, humid greenhouses full of exquisitely colored plants then this is must see TV. Shots #1 and 4 resided in my living room for months until they seemed like family, although I had to use tough love when both started demanding extra fertilizer.

Orchids make up one of the largest families of flowering plants. According to current estimations, there over 25,000 species in existence and three in hiding. Extremely diversified, they are found in virtually all regions of the world, except for deserts and probably ice flows . It is not uncommon for orchids to bloom for months. The beauty is that with all the cross breeding of the species, new forms and wildly rich colors of this incredibly beautiful flower on always on the horizon. And as a bonus, some even smell like heaven. You can go to the Farmer’s Market at Cabrillo College any Saturday morning and score and fantastically beautiful orchid for the price of a super burrito and a diet Squirt.

Here’s something I read recently in the LA Times that I found rather interesting. Last year’s fires in Southern California were a terrible tragedy, as the flames swept thru hillsides destroying people’s homes and life-long possessions. But back in 2003 when similar fires ravaged the area, as people began to recover from that blaze, the landscape started to provide some inspiration. Just three months after the wildfires, signs of life began poking thru from the blackened earth. Wildflowers unlike any that had been seen for years began shooting up thru the charred ground. Among them were whispering bells, yellow-throated phacelia, fire poppies and mariposa lillies. It guess it all comes down to Earth, Wind and Fire.

Researchers cataloged more than 150 species of flowers. The high heat of the fire and the nitrous oxide in the smoke helped germinate many of the long-dormant native flower seeds. Soil enriched by the ash made the show even more stunning in Year 2. It became a lesson for many people involved in these fires-the discovery of beauty in the ashes helped them move past the tragedy. Some people don’t look at it this way-personally, I’ve think they’ve got it ash backwards.

So that’s our show for the week. I’ve got hundred of luscious orchid shots that have never seen the blog of day which we’ll deal out over the year. So tune in on Monday when we’ll take a look at why Congress is so hot to trot about whether pitcher Roger Clemens took steroids yet not nearly as peeved about Halliburton over billing the Pentagon and the American taxpayer by untold millions in the ongoing Iraq debacle. I guess maybe that’s because Dick Cheney never took home a Cy Young Award.

So another big sports Sunday coming up. The late, great Milton Berle found one thing confusing about football. He noticed that each pro team was blessed with dozens of gorgeous cheerleaders. Yet when they players scored, they would hug one another. Thank you for your insight, Uncle Miltie. Enjoy the patterns and the colors and and we’ll catch you next week on the 50 yard line of life.