September days and the slow, subtle changes that signify the end of summer are around us once again

A highlight of our week was the visit from Natalie with her two sons (Aaron and Jack), together with her mother, 'Nana'. They had a splendid afternoon with both boys getting really stuck in to a spot of weeding and harvesting and leaving with arms laden with produce.

We held some more of these sessions and yet again everyone has enjoyed their afternoon experience immensely! Lottie celebrated her second birthday here (a real honour for us) and Corin was treated to a slice of birthday cake which was wonderful.

" If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth,
man would only have four years to live” - Maurice Maeterlinck The Life of the Bee, Nobel Prize for Literature

We've seen a number of family and friend groups make use of the"Afternoons on the Acre" and it's been a delight to see the acre being used and enjoyed in a safe way.

We are officially in full swing! We've had a great start to "Afternoons on the Acre". Coral made a return to the acre with her culinary skills. The Men in Sheds created some beautiful vegetable trugs as well as enjoying a BBQ afternoon to celebrate their efforts.

‘Afternoons on the acre’ has been designed to allow small groups to enjoy free, private and safe use of space2grow on weekday afternoons during the summer.

We are very pleased to announce that with the relaxation of lockdown we have discussed ways to safely re-open the acre for all our volunteers and visitors.

At this time of year our diurnal lives are shared with many of our nocturnal friends and it's an ideal time to spot some of them as they wander out into the warm dusk evenings.

It's not only us humans who are trying to keep the children fed and entertained at the moment. Our birds have been busy raising their young and at times the acre sounds like a very busy kindergarten!

Over the last three weeks the acre has burst into a riot of colour as the meadow flowers began to open their tight buds, revealing a trove of extraordinary beauty.

The last couple of blogs have very much focused on the wildlife that I've been able to take time to observe during my stay in the cabin

I remember receiving a tin musical carousel spinning top one Christmas which amused me greatly.

Easter greetings from the acre! It does seem very strange to be spending Easter in the cabin, with the mercury in the early 70's, whilst all around is the threat of the virus.

As we enter our second week of the lock down it is likely that this situation is likely to last beyond the three weeks that was originally announced.

We hope everyone is managing the situation as best as can be expected. As we have sadly had to close the project during the crisis, Corin, our project manager and master of all things space2grow is kindly keeping the acre going and is getting an awful lot done.

It is with regret that we must close space2grow with immediate effect and until further notice. I know that this will have a large impact on a number of our volunteers but we all must heed the advice coming out from the government and also the NHS and Public Health England.

The trustees have decided that it is important to keep the gardens open during the outbreak unless we have instructions from the government to do otherwise.

We have received some fantastic news - the pond decking has got the green light to proceed!

The acre has coped incredibly with all the weather that's been thrown at it over these last few weeks.

We’re flooded! The aftermath of two recent storms; storm Ciara and storm Dennis - and with groundwater levels being above normal for this time of year - the River Wey broke it’s banks and filled the project with water.

We were right down with the worms today as we got knee deep in our compost area! There are a couple of reasons we need to get to know our wiggly friends a little better…

The time of the year to reflect back and the acre has created some very special moments for us all to look back on with shared pride in what we've achieved together as a great team.

Its been another action packed week as the Christmas activities start to pick up speed. Our wonderful Christmas tree is getting lots of praise in St Andrews Church. Our entry is particularly unique..

Finally this week we saw a slight change in the weather and where once we were greeted by rain, we now can look forward to crisp blue skies above and white frosts under foot.

The rain has certainly made its presence felt these last few weeks and the acre has done its sponge like best to soak it up.

Now deep into autumn the acre has taken on a new look. Leaves have turned to burnished gold on beech, silvered on willow and dusky and mottled brown and yellow on chestnut.

On Tuesday we hosted a fantastic bonfire night party! It was made special as it brought together the simple pleasures of a great fire, hotdogs, soup and bread, toffee apples, sparklers.. and a lovely group of people.

Congratulations are in order as this week Farnham won gold at the National ' In Bloom' competition and were also awarded the accolade as ' Best Town ' in the UK!

We've already surpassed the average rainfall for October and the acre is definitely incredibly muddy under foot. However work goes on apace as we continue putting the acre to bed for the winter whilst also getting new projects up and running.