Saturday 4/3/23 We loaded the trailer up with an extending ladder which Fred loaned us, a sack of bird seed which Emma bought and OSB sheets to use for signs and fence post bases.
At the mill I switched on the nest cameras to check there were no birds in the Barn Owl box, as I planned to clear out the old Jackdaws nest, but the ladder didn’t quite reach the box and I’m a bit old to climb trees. Ryan volunteered to go up the ladder and into the tree, he opened the side hatch in the nest box and cleared out all the debris, then lowered the nest camera angle so we will see chicks at the front and back of the box, as we could only see Jackdaws when they were near the back.
Eddie hung up more fat filled Coconuts which Beryl gave us today, then opened the new sack of bird seed and filled the feeders, we saw a Great Tit eating from one straight away. Nest boxes, cameras and bird feeders were part of our Green Community grant. Ryan saw a Hare in the field next to the mill which stayed there long enough for me to get some photos of it.
We all sorted out and bundled up the loose sticks under our table, these were from split packs when we were moving them off the wildflower meadow. Ryan loaded them up along with some old flower pots which he broke up and added to the rubble on our track to avoid getting stuck in mud. The sticks were put with the rest along the riverside track as they will be used for river alterations soon. Ryan noticed a football in the river, so he got it out and took it back to the mill, we had a kick about with it, then left it under the wagon for dogs to play with.
I checked and reset the greenhouse thermometer, it had got down to minus 2 degrees and more cold weather is forecast. Ryan used Geoff’s chisels which Eddie had sharpened to cut away the greenhouse cladding around the door bolt, it now fits better and is easier to open and close.
On our way back we saw two Egrets, one on the riverside track and one in the river. When one flew away I noticed it had yellow legs which makes it a Little Egret, as Great White Egrets have black legs. We often see Egrets and Herons along the track and at the mill.
Thursday 9/3/23 The forecast was for light rain, but we had heavy snow most of the day so we lit the fire in the railway wagon again. Fortunately we had an indoor job to do today in the shed.
We have a pump for filling the water tank in the visitor centre loft which feeds the toilet cistern. To fill the tank we have to get the pump and a heavy battery down from the loft, take them round the back of the shed and connect the hoses and battery. This has to be done several times at open days when there is a lot of other work to do, so we wanted a permanent pump installation in the shed to make it much easier to fill the tank.
We drilled two holes in the shed wall, fed the hoses through and connected the inlet hose to the water butt tap and the outlet hose to the tank feed pipe. The pump was mounted on the inside shed wall, then connected to the shed battery, we heard water going into the tank, then when it was full, it came out of the overflow. We fitted a hook on the wall to hold the cables. Now, all we need to do to fill the tank is connect the crocodile clips to the battery. We don’t need to immediately disconnect it when the tank is full, as water coming out of the overflow gets channelled straight back into the water butt. I made a sheet metal cover for the holes where the hoses come out of the shed to prevent rain damage to the building.
Eddie filled the bird feeders using the scoop filler, we saw Goldfinches, a Coal Tit and Blue Tit eating from the feeders and a Robin on top of one of the insect hotels. In the field behind the mill a pair of Swans had settled down and stayed there all day.
Anne Marie walked down to see us, we looked at the greenhouse and checked the minimum temperature which had got down to minus 3.6 degrees, so we will have to wait for warmer weather to start using the greenhouse. Anne Marie plans to grow Sunflowers and wild flowers, she left some cake for us which Eddie and I enjoyed with a cup of tea. Anne Marie then walked back as the weather was unsuitable for gardening and the visitor centre was too cold to work in.
We walked a lot of mud into the wagon throughout the day, as we kept going in to warm up by the fire, drink tea and dry our gloves and coats, so before we left Eddie got the mop and bucket and we cleaned the floor.
Discussions about clearing up and replacing the fallen wall are taking place, we plan to start work when the weather improves as the track is still too slippery to get a digger to the mill at the moment.
On 6/3/23 the Annual Parish Meeting was held where all village organisations can report on their latest activity, the meeting was open to the public. I sent the 2023 bone mill report which was read out at the meeting.
Graham Bartlett
Interactive Plan Activity Green Grant Wildflower Meadow Volunteer Previous Next
