March 7, 2015
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Between Storms, March 1
As it's reputed to do, March came in like a lion here as it did throughout the country! We had a bit more rain last weekend. Between the storms that came through, I went out to see what the clouds were like -- they were quite lovely.
In the next two shots, at the left end of the horizon, is San Clemente Island -- a small island that we don't often see.
In front of the distant hill are the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. These are two of 29 ports up and down the West Coast that have been involved in work slow-downs and port closures as a result of labor negotiation issues. Since well before Christmas, the truckers have been working "by the book," with no overtime, etc. This has caused the cargo to back up on the docks, which, in turn has caused delays in off-loading ships. The ports have been closed a couple of times for weekends in order to allow the truckers to clear some of the containers off the docks. Meantime outgoing cargo (including California's produce) is stacking up on the docks because the ships cannot be loaded. A couple of weeks ago it looked as if we were about to have a shipping strike, which would affect the entire country. The negotiations have now been successful, and progress is being made toward clearing the backlogs. However, there are still a large number of ships waiting off the coast to be allowed into the Ports to offload their cargo. The next shot was taken from about 30 miles away from the Ports, yet you can see dimlyalong the water line a row of waiting ships (each of the dark spots along the water line is one or more container ships).
In closer range, I have posted photos previously of the valley in which our waste water purification plant is located. Usually it looks dry and brown. I was pleasantly surprised to look down last weekend and see how green it has become with the recent rains.
From that vantage point, I went down to Dana Point to see if the birds have begun to return to their colony. But that will wait until the next post ~ ~ ~
Comments (17)
The valley is lovely! I had no idea that there was any problem with the ports! I do hope the negotiations are concluded and all is well!!
The negotiations have concluded, and the workers are back at work, pending a union vote -- but it sounds like that will be formality and all seems to be resolved at this point. Incoming cargo hs been affected since about Thanksgiving, and outgoing as well. Produce growers are really losing out, as are manufacturers. All 29 ports have been affected, and the backups are tremendous!
It is heartening that the strike did not last long, but it doesn't take much to cause a backlog, given the number of ships which enter and exit those great ports, each day.
The valley looks lovely, from the recent rains.
It actually never got to the point of a full-blown strike -- slowdowns, and management lockouts, but no strike. Even one or two days is enough to affect the workflow, and this has been going on since November! At last things seem to be clearing out now.
Oh, the green! beautiful!
The whole of Southern California is displaying its spring green! It's beautiful, but sadly it won't last long!
My wife is very upset with the strikers.lol
Love your shots of cloulds.
blessings
frank
I'm glad they were able to resolve their differences. But the slowdowns had their effect in higher prices and spoiled produced that the growers now can't sell. Glad you like the clouds!
Beautiful pictures -- so nice to see some green! We are still covered in snow here although the temperature got up to 40 degrees today -- a heat wave!!
Thanks! The green is beautiful, but it won't last very long! We've had a heat wave here too this weekend -- to 90 degrees!
Thanks! Yes -- the green is beautiful, but it was hot here this weekend (close to 90), and the green will dry up very quickly!
I have seen the news about the loaded cargo ships which are not going anywhere. I also heard that some of the produce from California had spoilt, and people were very upset about it, naturally!
Fortunately a strike was averted, and the workers are beginning to work on the backlog of cargo ships. The growers are very upset that their produce will not sell because it is spoiling while waiting on the docks. It will be shipped to the far east, where it will not sell! There has also been merchandise which has not arrived here on time for special occasions (Christmas, Valentines Day ~ ~), and merchants here are upset about that as well!
Green looks incredibly good to us right now. Our green is covered by many inches of snow.
I didn't expect to see much green here this year -- but the recent rains brought it out everywhere -- so wonderful, but it won't last long! I hope your snow will melt soon to reveal wonderful spring green!
I appreciated your synopsis of the dock workers slow down. I hadn't considered the effect it had on outbound perishables.
The farmers were getting pretty upset about their produce sitting on the docks waiting for ships to take it away! With 29 ports up and down the coast, a strike, or even a longer slowdown, could have been pretty disastrous across the country. Thank goodness the Federal mediator came in and was able to accomplish a settlement!
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