Going for the One

Posted on September 16, 2021 by paulrainger

You might remember that last year, Emma tied on points with another competitor for first place overall as ‘Best in Show’ at our local Fruit and Veg Show.

We are nothing if not competitive here at The Secret Acre, so as the start of Village Produce Show season loomed again at the end of August, Emma was plotting to go one better this year.

And that she did, claiming the ‘Best in Show’ trophy as outright winner this year, picking up the section winner cups for Best Baker and Best Brewer en-route.

Continue reading →

Harvest 2020 – Part 3: Summer Holiday Helpers

Posted on September 2, 2020 by paulrainger

August is always a manic month of harvesting and preserving, and our ongoing Harvest 2020 was no exception.

If anything things have been even busier this year with the unseasonal climate change affected weather meaning everything has been ready at least two weeks early, and some crops badly hit.
Continue reading →

Harvest 2020 – Part Two

Posted on August 6, 2020 by paulrainger

Our harvesting continued apace in July and as we headed into August, traditionally the month of gluts on the veg patch.

The start of the school summer holidays also marks the traditional influx of child labour thanks to visiting friends. Continue reading →

May Fever

Posted on May 1, 2020 by paulrainger

Today is May Day, so happy Beltane.

It seems only yesterday it was Imbolc!

Facemasks may be the haute couture of the pandemic, but here at The Secret Acre they have nothing to do with the Good Life on Lockdown, but everything to do with Paul’s chronic hayfever. Continue reading →

Show me round your Fruit Cage

Posted on April 23, 2020 by paulrainger

You could have a laurel hedge, taking up the sunniest spot in the garden. Or you could have a fruit cage, where the fruit might be as sweet as can be.

We chose the latter, and took a preverbal sledgehammer to the laurel. Well a chain saw and a mechanical digger to be precise. Continue reading →

New Springwatch Kids on the Block

Posted on April 16, 2020 by paulrainger

Move over Chris Packham! Because another advantage of the current Good Life on Lockdown has been spare time to finally play properly with the trail camera we received at Christmas.

Since moving in we have got used to observing the daytime wildlife, even when red in tooth and claw, but we really wanted a wildlife camera to also be able to capture the hidden nocturnal wildlife, in full on David Attenborough style. Continue reading →

The (Good) Life on Lockdown

Posted on April 9, 2020 by paulrainger

We are living in strange times indeed. But life on Coronavirus Lockdown at The Secret Acre could be a lot worse. The sun is finally out, and there’s no shortage of spring jobs in the garden to be done.

We know we are not the only ones to have taken the opportunity to start re-watching the complete DVD set of episodes of The Good Life again from scratch. We are just getting onto the start of season four!

Meanwhile, the time for other more practical projects has also materialised during life on lockdown. Here’s a quick pictorial run through our first two weeks on lockdown on the homestead…. Continue reading →

People in Glasshouses… should get on with it!

Posted on November 8, 2018 by paulrainger

Hard to believe we’ve been living at The Secret Acre for three years now, and the still as yet unfinished greenhouse can’t believe it either!

Friends from the start might remember that clearing the greenhouse was the very first task we tackled over three years ago. Like an episode of Time Team if it involved only brambles. Continue reading →

The Good Life Experience

Posted on October 4, 2018 by paulrainger

We moved to The Secret Acre to live the good life, so when the opportunity came along last month to visit Cerys Matthews’ Good Life Experience with friends and the dog, it seemed rude not to! Continue reading →

Tap’y New Year

Posted on February 15, 2018 by paulrainger

If you were with us this time last year, you will know that Emma and I decide to dump the traditional first 24 wedding anniversaries – the rubbish ones like ‘paper’ and ‘glue’ which come before the serious bling – in favour of our own list of things we actually like.

So we wrote down 12 each and randomly assigned them into the 24 draws of a repurposed advent calendar, to be opened at the start of each year. Continue reading →

The Secret Acre

Our journey to a happier life, more in tune with nature, on a one acre smallholding

Tag Archives: The Good Life