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. Only a month or so ago the ground was baked harder than brick, cracks zig zagged and crazed across it whilst the plants sucked what little moisture remained in a bid to survive a week or so longer. All will be well but it might take some time before the acre resembles a garden again. There’s still be plenty to keep us busy - a little raking, tidying up, a bonfire when the weather permits... and beneath our feet the acre is working. Worms are breaking down old matter, bulbs are beginning to send out roots, nourishment is seeping into the ground. Deep in the compost heap the slow worms nestle in the warmth of a centrally heated chamber. The acre is beginning to slumber....

Above ground we've been busy, especially the fantastic " Men in Sheds" who have been working on several fronts. A wonderful new bench circles our beech tree, designed and built by our very own ' Carpenters'. Bee hotels and bird boxes have been constructed to an extremely high standard and their tool shed has been re-roofed and shelved out. The project has been a resounding success and soon the team will start work on our pond pontoon - to their own design. Next year promises to be fantastic too as we enter into new areas of cooperation and work even more closely together.

Plans are afoot as we prepare to enter a Christmas tree into St. Andrews Christmas Tree festival next week, each member on the acre is contributing to this collaborative effort. We also have a stall at the Farnham Town Christmas Market and we are busy preparing lots we can sell to raise funds for the project there.

So lots to do before we wrap up the acre until next year. One or two final pushes and we're there!