Good morning and welcome to the central coast, where we’ve experienced two major forest fires in the last month. The first, the Summit Fire in the Santa Cruz mountains, burned 4,270 acres and destroyed 35 homes. The second began last Wednesday. I was cruising the westside at around 3:30 when all of a sudden white smoke appeared in the sky (photo #1) coming from the Bonny Doon area. As the fire spread it looked like a bomb had gone off (photo #2.) I was shooting at Natural Bridges as the smoke spread across the sky in a rather eerie fashion. Soon everything was changing color due to the smoke and the ocean (photo #5) turned into a coppertone sea. As the smoke got thicker the sun (photo #6) displayed shades of colors that signaled something is very wrong here today.

Fortunately, as of today the Martin Fire is pretty much contained. We have some friends living in Bonny Doon who refused to evacuate their home so things were kind of dicey for a while. Overall, 520 acres burned and the cause of the fire is under investigation. Investigators are speculating that hikers, trespassers or magic squirrels in the Moon Rocks area of the Bonny Dune Ecological Reserve might have accidentally ignited the blaze. Rumor has it that this area, which is closed off to the public, is a favorite spot for people who like to practice preventive glaucoma.

So I got to wondering, what’s the story with wildfires, these raging blazes that rapidly spread out of control, much like the Bush administration did after 9/11? Like vacations, they occur most frequently in the summer, when lightning and morons are roaming the sky and woods. We haven’t had any rain in months and the brush was dry and the flames moved unchecked through the woods like Ray Allen did through the lane at the end of the game 4 on Thursday night. Like the Bonny Doon blaze, fires often begins unnoticed and spread quickly with the wind carrying the flames from tree to tree. As you can see in photo #3, dense smoke is the first indication of either a fire or a Grateful Dead concert.

These intense displays by Mother Nature got me to wondering about other big-time fires. Here’s number one on the disaster hit list. On the evening of October 8, 1871 the worst recorded forest fire in North American history raged through northeastern Wisconsin and upper Michigan with hurricane force winds. By the time it was over, 1,875 square miles of forest had burned, an area twice the size of the state of Rhode Island and Donny Rumsfeld’s ego.

An accurate death toll has never been determined since local population records were destroyed in the fire. An estimate of between 1,200 and 2,500 people were thought to have lost their lives. Peshtigo, Wisconson, the town hardest hit, had an estimated 1,700 residents before the fire. The city was gone in an hour. In Peshtigo alone, 800 lives were lost. More than 350 bodies were buried in a mass grave, primarily because so many had died that no one remained alive who could identify many of them.

The fire was so intense it jumped several miles over the waters of Green Bay as well as jumping the Peshtigo River itself to burn on both sides of the inlet town. Surviving witnesses said that the firestorm generated a fire tornado which threw rail cars and houses into the air. The smoke blocked the sun, the rising moon turned red and witnesses thought it was a sure sign of the apocalypse.

This Peshtigo fire represents the greatest tragedy of its kind in North America. Yet amazingly, most people have never heard of it because it occurred at the same exact time as America’s most famous fire-the Great Chicago Fire that destroyed 17,450 structures, caused about $200 million in damage and left one-third of the city homeless. This makes the suffering of present day Cubs fans look like a romp in the park. As you can imagine, this fire grabbed all of the national headlines. But citizens of Wisconsin are well aware of this painful tragedy as well as the Packers losing to the Giants in this year’s NFL playoffs

So that’s our look at the Hall of Flames. If you follow the national news, you know the torrential floods in Iowa and killer tornadoes throughout the midwest have been dominating the headlines. Hurricanes, cyclones, earthquakes, reality television, we are living through some wild times. So get on board and enjoy the ride here at Sunrise Santa Cruz and we’ll catch you for some Larry bird action on Wednesday. And speaking of which, get ready for game 6 between the Lakers and the Celtics Tuesday night. With any luck, it will be a classic. Later, sports fans.

Good morning and welcome to westside story. On Wednesday we checked out a spectacular sunrise over the Pacific at Lighthouse Point. Today we are again blasting back to the past and heading a couple miles up the coast to Natural Bridges State Beach. These are a couple of never seen before sunsets that I thought would be a good way to close out the week. Then again, I thought the Lakers winning game 4 and tying up the NBA Finals would be a good way to finish off the week but I guess the Celtics had another idea.

We’ve been talking food this week here on the blog. Well, when it comes to healthy vegetables, my personal favorite and the numero uno choice of Americans is the proud potato. Mashed, baked, scalloped, roasted, french fried, au gratin, no matter which way you serve it, I find them all to be very apeeling. These taters tots are included in one of every three meals that Americans eat. But where did these carbohydrate cloggers first set down their roots? The origin of the potato has become, a “hot potato” between neighbors Peru and Chile. The spud dispute began last Monday, when Chilean Agriculture Minister Marigen Hornkohl said 99% of the world’s potatoes derive from spuds native to Chile and that “you cannot petition the Lord with prayer.”

Peru, where the potato and llama races are a source of national pride, bristled at the claim and said that these spuds come from a part of the Andes near Lake Titicaca, most of which is located in modern-day Peru. The country claims to have some 3,000 varieties of potato, all of which can be made into french, steak and seasoned curly fries. And by the way, who named Lake Titicaca? Howard Stern?

The spud dispute is just the latest flare-up between the testy neighbors. The one previous to this was which nation actually coined the term “peasant.” This new, simmering, so-called “Pisco War” flared up again when Peru’s agriculture minister called Chilean Pisco “bad,” after Chile declared May 15 “National Pisco Day.” This is not to be confused with “Joe Piscopo Day.” Now both nations are fighting over bragging rights to the potato and who receives the next major earthquake.

Andres Contreras, a researcher at Chile’s Austral University in Valdivia, said archaeological studies have found the first evidence of human consumption of potatoes dating back 14,000 years in southern Chile, right before the discovery of ketchup. This would be long before evidence emerges of spud consumption in Peru, which also claims bragging rights to Peruvian lilies, Peruvian marching powder and Shining Path rebels.

Now this is where things gets starchy. The head of Peru’s National Institute for Agricultural Innovation, Juan Risi, called Chile’s potatoes mere “grandchildren” of Peru’s tubers. “Peruvian potatoes that originated near lake Titicaca are the true potatoes, and their children spread throughout the Andes,” Risi said. And we all know that the children shall lead us. But who even knew that potatoes were sexually active?

Experts say the disputes reflect lingering historical tensions between the Amos and Andean neighbors. The disputes are “a very superficial manifestation of this ongoing concern of national pride and wounded feelings over various problems in the past,” said David Scott Palmer, a professor of Latin American politics and American policy at Boston University. I believe the professor is referring to soccer matches, border disputes and the origin of “chili fries.” Bottom line, it sounds to me like both nations have a potato chip on their shoulder.

That’s it for another week of blogging with the stars. So happy Father’s Day to all you well-deserving males out there who put time in with your children to make this world a better place. And on a personal note, here’s wishing my father, Daniel Gilbert, a Happy Father’s Day. 91 years old, living in Santa Cruz and still going somewhat strong. Unbelievable. They say every American eats about 126 pounds of potatoes every year and he is definitely one of them. And remember, while you’re reading this people are worried about losing their homes in the Bonnie Dune fire so try not to sweat the small stuff. So have a great holiday weekend, enjoy the sunset cruz and we’ll take a look at that raging fire on Monday. Later, aloha fans.

Good morning, bird lovers. Aviary week continues as today we venture to the remaining arch at Natural Bridges State Beach. I dropped in early Wednesday morning and the rock was front loaded with my favorite bird besides Larry. I love these prehistoric looking creatures with New York Giant wingspans. The first shot sets up our location along West Cliff Drive and the last shot is from a stormy day last winter when the pelicans and the cormorants were huddled closer together than Barack Obama’s super delegates.

Here are a couple of stories that caught my wandering eye this week and the first is right up bird alley. When Yosuke the parrot flew out of his cage and got lost, he did exactly what he had been taught — recite his name, address, rank and serial number to a stranger willing to help. Police rescued the African grey parrot two weeks ago from a neighbor’s roof in the city of Nagareyama, near Tokyo. After being read his rights and grilled by detectives all night at the police station, he was transferred to a nearby veterinary hospital while police contacted Interpol and searched for clues, local policeman Shinjiro Uemura said.

He kept mum with the cops, but began chatting after a few days with the vet. “I’m Mr. Yosuke Nakamura,” the bird told the veterinarian. The parrot also provided his full home address, down to the street number, and even entertained the hospital staff by singing songs, which included an some early Motown, Ted Nugent and a medley of Barry Manilow hits.

“We checked the address, and what do you know, a Nakamura family really lived there. So we told them we’ve found Yosuke,” Uemura said. The Nakamura family told police they had been teaching the bird its name, address and how to play the accordian for about two years.

But Yosuke apparently wasn’t keen on opening up to police officials. “I tried to be friendly and talked to him, but he completely ignored me,” Uemura said. Later, the bird said he had been denied counsel, sleep and bird seed and was not read his rights. He has been contacted by local animal rights groups and a law suit is pending.

Speaking of animals in the slammer, a donkey is doing time in southern Mexico for assault and battery. The animal was locked up at a local jail that normally holds people for public drunkenness and other disturbances after it bit and kicked two men near a ranch in Chiapas state, police said Monday. The animal claims he kicked the two gents in self-defense.

Officer Sinar Gomez said the donkey will remain behind bars until its owner agrees to pay the men’s medical bills. “Around here, if someone commits a crime they are jailed,” Gomez said, “no matter who they are.” When officer Gomez was asked if the donkey understood the charges against him, he said the beast refused to answer and was acting as stubborn as a mule.

The owner, Mauro Gutierrez, told The Associated Press he would try to reach a friendly arrangement to pay the men’s bills, estimated at $420. The victims said the donkey bit Genaro Vazquez, 63, in the chest on Sunday and then kicked 52-year-old Andres Hernandez as he tried to come to the rescue, fracturing his ankle. “All of a sudden, the animal was on top of us like it was rabid,” Hernandez said. The donkey claims he acted alone and no rabbits were involved. Police said it took a half-dozen men, a female dispatcher and a tortilla salesman to control the enraged burro.

Chiapas police have thrown animals in the slammer before, including a bull that devoured corn crops and destroyed two wooden vending stands in March. The bull later claimed the machines took his money without giving him the Red Bull that he paid for along with a package of Peanut M & M’s. In 2006, a dog was locked up for 12 days after biting someone. His owners were fined $18 and forced to watch old Freddie Prinze “Chico and the Man” episodes.

That will do it for bird week here at Sunrise Santa Cruz. In honor of holiday weekend and the NBA conference finals we’ll take Monday off but we’ll come back strong for Wednesday. And birthday wishes go out on Sunday to my lovely wife Allison who once said to me, “You love basketball more than you love me.” And I replied, “Yes, but I love you more than football or baseball.” As I’ve said before, I guess I’m just a hopeless romantic. So have a great Memorial Day weekend and remember while you’re watching games and barbecuing our troops are still in danger in Iraq and Afghanistan. So don’t sweat the small stuff and count your blessings. And don’t take your good health for granted. Most of us are way ahead in a game where the final score doesn’t matter. Enjoy the pelicans. Later, sports fans.

Good morning and greetings from this cold water paradise. Lately, a day hasn’t gone by when I haven’t seen a great blue heron. I spotted one this morning at the lagoon at Natural Bridges. They are beautiful birds with wing spans that would make both Yao Ming and a pelican jealous. I shot the first two photos this week right down the street from my lovely abode. I spied the next heron in the marshes at Four Mile Beach then it’s back to Natural Bridges. The yellow flower experience is from an open field on Delaware Avenue but it’s the last shot that’s the most unusual. I’ve only seen a great blue heron once in the ocean when this good looking fellow flew in very early one morning for a photo session at the arch at Its Beach. I paid him scale, he signed a release and we were both happy.

So on to the news of the day. Let’s play the Bush administration’s favorite game, “who wants to be average?” According to Time Magazine, the average U.S. household has 2.6 members not including pets, squatters and that friend who never knows when to leave. Our average age is 36.6 and while 17% of us exercise for well over one hour a day, the rest of us don’t even break a sweat. The vast majority of Americans believe in God and more than 90% own a bible. I don’t know what percentage own a gun but I’ll take a shot that it’s huge.

If you are an American at some point today you will say a prayer (perhaps at the free throw line,) use floss, and shower for 10 minutes. All you lovers of the outdoors will spend 95% of the day indoors and 2.5 hours online. You will also consume 20 teaspoons of added sugar and not save any money or souls. On weekends, people spend 1.5 hours reading while those aged 15 to 19 will spend seven minutes, much of which on instructions for iPods usage or text messaging.

On Thanksgiving, 88% will eat turkey but never visit the country. While most Americans prefer white meat the rest of the world (and yours truly) prefers dark. The average family has more televisions than people but we spend the same amount of time watching them as we did 40 years ago, just not laughing as much. Parents are both working harder and spending more time with their children, especially fathers, who spend 153% more time each week on child care then in 1965. Time with the wife (or husband) has dropped as pure spousal time is down 26% since 1975. On the other hand, time spent with mediators, lawyers and divorce proceeding is off the charts.

For you all brewski lovers, North Dakota ranks first in average beer consumption per person (they had to be first in something) while Utah is last. Large families are vanishing: only 10% of American households have five or more people. In 1970, 21% did. On the average, Americans sit in traffic 38 hours a year, wasting an estimated 26 gallons of gas per person. That’s life in the slow lane. I’m just glad that we’re not being held captive by the oil producing countries and that they money we’re paying for this black crude isn’t being funneled to terrorist groups that want to kill Americans. I was almost going to make a comment here about the Bush administration and the spiraling cost of gasoline but why spoil a good paragraph?

71% of American households have an internet connection, up from 50% in 2001. That still leaves about 31 million homes offline not reading this blog. Americans go to an average of 5 to 8 movies a year, spending 10 times more at theaters than all all major professional sports combined, which includes beach volleyball, roller derby and women’s professional wrestling.

The U.S. has 612,020 fast-food cooks but only 392,850 full-time farmers. Americans spend more in restaurants ($390 billion) than they do in grocery stores ($364 billion.) And finally, your fellow Americans spent $155 billion of alcoholic beverages last year, buying enough for every person to down 7 bottles of liquor, 12 bottles of wine, 230 cans of beer and a bag of pretzels. That may sound like a lot, but one-third of American adults don’t drink as the U.S. ranks 40th in the world in alcoholic consumption per person. For whatever reason, Luxembourg (who even knew they were a country?) is number one, followed by the Czech Republic and Ireland. So now we know why Irish eyes are smiling.

What does this all mean? I’m not really sure, just that I may have pumped out an average blog, which I do on the average of three times a week. That’s my batting average. So get ready for game one tonight of the western conference finals between the Spurs and Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. We’ll catch you for good Friday. Enjoy the herons and remember to play your man straight up. Aloha.