From the desk of Jayne Battey “I am so sorry. We are fully committed through the end of February.” Those were the words I rehearsed in my bedroom, over breakfast, at the gym and in my office. I needed to rehearse these words so I would actually be able to say them...

From the Desk of Jayne Battey She was midway through her practice-run for the board presentation. She was on fire —articulate, determined, visionary and passionate. I was with her completely. And suddenly there was a gasp as her words caught in her throat. She took a...

  From the desk of Jayne Battey. It is mostly dark outside, with just a bit of morning light peeking into the day. I pour the water, measure the coffee and have a minor tussle fitting the unfamiliar coffee pot into place. The rest of the house is asleep, and as I wait...

"I’ve never eaten a carrot like this in my life.” Sunday Afternoon Guest to the Farm, Age 82.   I may be aging myself, but do you remember the Bugs Bunny cartoons? Bugs Bunny was always chomping on a fresh-pulled carrot. But now it seems carrots mostly come perfectly...

  I remember the sidewalk rapidly approaching my face . . . or rather my face rapidly approaching the sidewalk. Gravity was not my friend at this precise moment. In about two seconds time the toe of my shoe hit the curb, my knee and hand hit the sidewalk, my bags flew...

The barn smelled of pine and eucalyptus. The fireplace had been burning for hours and it warmed the room with a soft glow of embers. The squash soup was bubbly warm and an afternoon of holiday baking filled the table with treats. Alena and Kelly arrived with more bits...

Last week I told a little white lie. I was late for a phone meeting -- and I told the caller that I was running late due to a prior meeting that ran long than expected.  Sounds reasonable and understandable, but it wasn’t exactly, um, true. The truth was, actually,...

...From the desk of Jayne Battey My dad, Arthur Lincoln Turner, Jr., is one of nine children. As far back as I can remember there were cousins, aunts and uncles sprinkled across every aspect of my life. There were the beautiful older girl cousins who I shyly waved at...

From the desk of Jayne Battey My nephew, Matt Balassone, saved a man’s life this past week. Actually, he may have saved the lives of three men—the one unconscious in the water and the two who went in to try and rescue him in Charleston Harbor. If it weren’t for Matt’s...

...From The Desk Of Jayne Battey I am in the greenhouse every morning now—or as I keep inadvertently calling it, "the nursery". It’s an easy mistake, or perhaps the more accurate name. As I unlatch the little door each morning, I am greeted by the smell of fresh dirt,...

...From The Desk Of Jayne Battey She leaned in close to me and said, "It's been a year and I can't seem to move on. I can't seem to let it go, even though I couldn't stand to stay another minute. But it's like I never existed and now I have this need to be of service...

...From The Desk Of Jayne Battey She turned the kitchen tap and there was no water. Not a drop. My niece Kim turned to me and said, “Well, I won’t be taking a shower this morning.” It was 10:00 in the morning and the water would be off until noon—when it would likely...

...From The Desk Of Jayne Battey Miramar Farms is a young company -- just about two years old this coming August. About eight months ago we hired our first full time employee. So this past spring I got ready to do my first performance review. I sat down with Nicole...

...From The Desk Of Jayne Battey We were in the office, with the doors thrown open on a spectacular spring day, and I was on the phone with a client. But the hum coming from just outside the office was growing in volume and intensity. Was someone operating a...

...From The Desk of Jayne Battey They come off the little bus one at a time. Jordan. Egypt. Somalia. Abu Dhabi. Israel. They shake my hand, nod and with a shy smile introduce themselves and their country. Places I’ve never traveled; places I’ve only heard about in the...

From the desk of Jayne Battey Question: How do you move a 50-pound bag of wet mulch? Answer: A little bit at a time. After two weeks of vacation over the holidays, I jumped in to tackle a bright fresh new year with energy, ambition and a full calendar. There were...

... From the desk of Jayne Battey Making Good on Your Investment Here’s a quick question for you: When you think about your next board or staff retreat, is your gut reaction: A. The excitement and energy that comes from the thought of sharing a day of conversation,...

... From the desk of Jayne Battey Meet Delilah. Wonderfully tangerine in color and currently about the size of a beanbag chair, she is Miramar Farms’ pride and joy for the 2013 pumpkin-growing season. Delilah had us worried. She was a late bloomer—planted as a sprout...

(or,  Why You Should be Optimistic About the Next Generation)     ... From the desk of Jayne Battey This summer we were fortunate enough to have an outstanding intern at Miramar Environmental and Miramar Farms. Lindley Dobbrow is a rising Junior at U.C. Santa Barbara...