Valentine's Day has finally arrived, and lovers everywhere are surprised with wonderful flowers. I would like to thank everyone who made my task easier, as well as everyone in Mayesh and all the clients for distributing these flowers, which in turn spread love, joy and goodwill to many people throughout the nation... Love is one of the most important components of our lives, and for everyone in our great industry, I urge you to remember, love and cherish the people close to you, throughout these busy and often stressful times. While success and financial gain are of course necessary pursuits, when one steps back and surveys the big picture, one realizes that love and the well-being of those dear to us is so much more important. For me, and I hope for you, CSNY's "Teach Your Children" poignantly illustrates the paramount importance of unconditional love:
You who are on the road Must have a code that you can live by And so become yourself Because the past is just a good bye.
Teach your children well, Their father's hell did slowly go by, And feed them on your dreams The one they picked, the one you'll know by. Don't you ever ask them why, if they told you, you would cry, So just look at them and sigh and know they love you.
And you, of tender years, Can't know the fears that your elders grew by, And so please help them with your youth, They seek the truth before they can die.
Teach your parents well, Their children's hell will slowly go by, And feed them on your dreams The one they picked, the one you'll know by. Don't you ever ask them why, if they told you, you would cry, So just look at them and sigh and know they love you.
Dedicated to Conrad Dahlson, my father and Desiree Dahlson, my niece.
# posted by Mayesh International @ 6:54 PM 1 Comments
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Out of Ecuador
Saturday was my last day in Quito and it was a very quiet day. There was very little product available at the farm level, and anyway, there is really no way to get it to Locations in the USA in time for the holiday. I was standing by in case any problems arose, but there were none.
Last night I went to a convivial gathering of Salome Penaherrera's (nee Flores) sister Esmeralda on the occasion of her birthday. Salome recently married Ramiro Penaherrera, who is running the excellent "Flowers for Kids" promotion, and whic I earnestly hope that Mayesh will be hosting sometime in 2008. Ramiro and Salome are quite the emancipated cosmopolitan couple, and they will be shortly combining their last names to create their own nom-de-mariage; Penaflores.
Today at lunchtime I landed Stateside, in time to see the last of the roses being loaded into a tractor-trailer ready for dispatch to all points West. This is the penultimate leg of these roses' journey from Ecuador for a Valentine's Day sweetheart somewhere West of the Mississipi. The crew informed me that it had been extremely busy the last week or so, and I for must agree. I am exhausted and it is oh-so-good to be home!
Happy Valentine's Day everyone,
and good luck with your sales.
# posted by Mayesh International @ 12:14 PM 0 Comments
Friday, February 8, 2008
Tungurahua
Well, there it is....Valentine's Day has reached its conclusion here in Ecuador. The rose plantations have harvested all their red varieties although there is an abundance of colors that would be ideal for fall still available. Our last flight containing any significant amount of Valentine's day flowers left from Quito International Airport this afternoon.
During this entire Valemtine's shipping period, we have had absolutley no problems, so it is only fittting that today we would have our cargo diverted to Panama, of all places. The reason for this is the Volcano Tungurahua that exploded on Wednesday morning. It turns out that this eruption is much more serious than originally thought, with several thousand people being evacuated from the town of Banos and other small villages near by. Massive amounts of ash, rock and small pieces of magma were spewed into the atmosphere, some of which was deposited in the immediate area, and the rest being blown by the jet stream westwards towards the Pacific ocean. Unfortunately this detritus in the air was detected over Guayaquil airport, where most cargo planes from Quito land to refuel. Because of the hazard of the airborne particulate to the jet turbines, UPS diverted our flight to Panama. In Panama the pilots ran out of hours permissible to fly, and with no back-up crew, had to reschedule the leg to Miami for early Saturday morning. In the scheme of things, a slight hiccup.
In Ecuador, visits to see the night-time fireworks of Tungurahua have become rather popular, with sparks, sprays of moltem lava, as well as ash and rocks lighting up the night sky. While the display must surely be enthralling, the risk-reward percentages look rather unappetising, and I, for one, will not be making the trip.
I made my last trip to Flowercargo, the company that coordinates our freight during Valentine's Day and throughout the year, where I bade farewell to the great team that efficiently puts together all our boxes and delivers them to UPS. I am very grateful for their enthusiastic approach and positive attitude, and for making sure that despite transit delays of some farms delivering roses, all the cargo was tendered to UPS in a timely fashion. Special thanks go to Ney Guachamin (in orange sweatshirt) for his tireless efforts to ensure Mayesh receives all their Valentine's roses on time.
# posted by Mayesh International @ 8:06 PM 1 Comments
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Mr. Blue Sky
Well nature can be pretty perverse. Just as we finish shipping roses from Ecuador the sun comes out across the entire altiplano. Blue skies abound, it is blazing hot, and sunscreen is required as the sun is so intense.
In the south, which had enjoyed several consecutive sunny days, the views were spectacular looking south from Cotopaxi. In the distance you can see the volcano of Chimborazo, which is the closest point on the planet to the sun, as well as being the furthest point from the center of the earth.
Calls to growers in search of bits and pieces to complete orders was often futile as the farms simply had run out of flowers. Peter managed to get some roses but all in all the harvest is coming to an end.
In the north the growing areas of Cayambe and Tabacundo basked in some intense sunshine as well, and if this weather continues the farms in this area will have quite a few flowers being harvested after Valentine's Day. In this picture we see Tabacundo and environs, where farms such as Jumbo and Denmar are located.
It is a shame, because if this sun had come out a week earlier the Valentine's day crop would have been much more plentiful and more vigorous. But that's life, and sometimes nature does not comply with man's best laid plans.
Lily Allen is quite popular here and her version of ELO's "Mr. Blue Sky" lends its name to the title of today's blog. "Alfie" is being played on the radio all the time. Another popular band here is the great Mexican band Mana; who perform "El Muelle de San Blas". During my stay here I heard their amazing version of Led Zeppelin's "Fool in the Rain", which is sung in Spanish and has mariachi breaks at the begiining and the end. The song is called "Tonto bajo la lluvia" and could well describe my trip to Ecuador this year!
# posted by Mayesh International @ 8:50 PM 0 Comments
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Ash Wednesday
Today I visited the south again for one last look at the farms there, and gave out final reminders to please be on time. I spent some time at Agrirose, where I had the opportunity to film the process of flowers being graded and bunched, ready for export, which you can see in this short video. I hope you enjoy it.
I spent quite a bit of time with the owner Renato Teran, reviewing the new varieties that he is testing. Most of these are codes, including quite a few very striking and beautifuk varieties that we should see this summer, as well as roses that have names such as "Orangina" and "Candlelight". He also has quite some beautiful and sweetly fragrant garden roses, including new David Austin varieties. So there is alot to look forward to from Agrirose, and I will keep you all updated this summer.
A curious thing occurred while I was at Agrirose, shortly after filming the rose packing and production. A priest from the local parish came in and painted a black cross on the forehead of every employee. The medium he used, I was informed is made from ash mixed with water. Wow! I had no idea that "Ash Wednesday" was based on a Catholic tradition. Actually, I had no clue at all why it is called Ash Wednesday, but apparently it heralds the start of "Quaresma" or Lent. Also a rather strange coimcidence occurred on this Ash Wednesday: the volcano Tungurahua, that was featured earlier in the blog, exploded in the early hours of the morning spewing ash for hundreds of miles to the west. There is a lot of praying going on in this part of Ecuador.
This evening our last big shipment left for the airport, and there seem to be very few roses left at the farms available for sale.. Peter did a really masterful job of gleaning whatever roses were out there, and came up with a great package. Tonight all the farms arrived on time, and the entire operation went very smoothly.
# posted by Mayesh International @ 8:48 PM 1 Comments
Breaking News
Early this morning at Schiphol, Amsterdam's International Airport, as well as other major European airports such as Madrid and Lisbon were raided by customs agents with warrants to confiscate any and all roses grown without royalty payments. These royalty payments are due to the rose breeders for their intellectual property (the development and rights to a variety of rose that they developed) which are assessed on every plant grown. Rose plants are easily propagated and there is a considerable black market for 'hot" new varieties.
This abuse has been going on for far too long, and for a company such as Mayesh which does business with reputable rose growers, the implication is that hopefully we will have to compete less with brokers and importers who trade with illegal operators, as they will either have to pay some quite large sums pending an audit going back several years, or simply cease to be growers.
I support these actions and earnestly hope similar actions will take place in the United States.
Please be sure that we do everything in our power to deal with upstanding and fully paid-up members of the rose growing community, but if we do find we have been trading erroneously with a grower who is in violation of the law, we will shall correct the situation immediately.
Just to give you an idea of the impact; today I had lunch with another importer from Holland who received a call from a grower to inform him that unfortunately the shipment of Sexy Red would have to cancelled as the grower had not paid the royalties for this new variety!
# posted by Mayesh International @ 3:39 PM 0 Comments
Super Tuesday
It just occurred to me that I had become almost oblivious to events in the USA, and early this morning before going to bed I watched a little Larry King hosting the primary returns. That put me to sleep right away. I also realized I had not seen a Super Bowl in six years.
Last night went much smoother than I had anticipated, with most farms showing up on time, and almost dropping off one after the other. Denmar continues to amaze with punctuality and correct numbers. Beautiful mixed colors arrived from Florecal and Agrirose continues to fulfill their Classy commitment, and with the sunny weather in the south they look really velvety, and at the correct cutting point. Nevado roses delivered the Classy's that Peter ordered, as well as their huge 130-140cm Forever Youngs, which are packed in an impressive unique box.
Even though all the roses have been fresh, I still had to reject roses last night, much to my chagrin, but some farms, in a rush to fulfill their commitments are not hydrating the roses in an appropriate manner. These arrive soft and simply will not ship in a satisfactory condition. Roses have to hydrate for a minimum of four hours, and really need 12 hours to be properly stabilized.
As production is tight I could almost hear Peter saying "No, no, no" all the way from Miami, but I had no choice.
Red roses are in tight supply in Ecuador and Colombia, and so I think we are set for a good Valentine's as Peter has acquired a fair-sized amount of these, especially considering the trying conditions. It is worth noting that the only way to get the quantity of flowers that we need for this holiday, we have to start buying and shipping over a period of several days. There are no farms, trucks or aircraft in Ecuador big enough to produce and move everything in one or two days.
Some colors are loosening up, but time is running out to get them to the USA. However, Peter and I are monitoring the situation, and if you sell out we shall react accordingly.
# posted by Mayesh International @ 4:59 AM 1 Comments
very quiet day. There was very little product available at the farm level, and anyway, there is really no way to get it to Locations in the USA in time for the holiday. I was standing by in case any problems arose, but there were none.
