Thursday 15/6/23 On our way in to the mill we could see the wildflower meadow is even more impressive now, purple Poppies have spread and there are more Cornflowers too. The grindstone looks good on the corner, it was moved there so we could clear the fallen wall.
My Brother in law, Bill passed away in 2021 and his wife, Sylvia kindly let me have some of his tools and things for myself and the bone mill, we sorted them out and put them in the shed. There are Velcro pads which I put on photos that had fallen off our displays in the visitor centre, I re-attached them to the boards. There are also washers, aluminium sheets, cable ties with mounting pads, wire strippers, paintbrushes, various screws and fixings, all of which we often need. We also have a shackle pulley, 12V power socket and Emery paper. My wife Jan brought Bill and Sylvia to the mill in 2018 when they visited us.
Eddie and I walked through the wildflower meadow to get to the bridge as one of the floor panels was loose, so we removed it to see what was wrong, we had to drill out a damaged screw head, removing the remains of the screw was the first job for Bill’s adjustable pliers. The floor panel was re-fitted using longer screws which has fixed it.
We crossed the bridge and viewed the fallen wall, the river is now clear of debris which was removed last Saturday. We retrieved the Wet Paint sign and sat on the bench Eddie painted as it was in the shade (it was very hot today), we watched a Pied Wagtail opposite on our riverside bench and viewed the wild flowers from the footpath.
Back at the mill we saw a young Pied Wagtail near our compost bay, we think they are nesting nearby. We also saw Cinnabar Moths at the bridge and near the wagon. We put the fence back on the river bank to block access to the fallen wall. Eddie brought a sack of bird seed and emptied it into sealed containers, then filled the bird feeders while I watered the plants we put in recently. Eddie watered the Lupins and Cherry tree. I pulled tall Hemlock weeds from the wildflower meadow, taking care not to damage surrounding flowers.
We were joined by Sheena and Wayne with their dog Cody who came down from the holiday cottages, they walked through the wildflower meadow, then looked round the site and saw the video of the water wheel turning and the latest slideshow of making the wildflower meadow, they were interested in the history of the mill and the finds on display.
On our way back I tightened screws in the base of an insect hotel which was leaning over, they look good now they are in the wildflower area, which is what they were bought for.
Thursday 22/6/23 Ryan joined us as he’s finished his exams. He used the push mower to re-cut paths through the wildflower meadow. Yellow Corn Marigolds are now flowering as well as the other flowers. Large Poppies have grown up in the area by the small Oak tree at the other end of the site. We had tea in the railway wagon and a green Damsel Fly came in and landed on the window, which we set free.
The shed door was catching on the floor, making it difficult to open, so we jacked the door up on pieces of wood, loosened the top hinge and added a thick washer between the two parts of the hinge to lift the door slightly, then did the same with the bottom hinge. This was a three man job, it now opens and closes perfectly.
While working on the shed door we saw a Hornet go into a knot hole in the shed cladding, it must be nesting between the cladding and interior wall panels, we don’t think it can get through into the shed. Eddie strimmed around the site including under the wagon so the Hedgehog boxes are clear.
Ryan and I got some bricks from the stacks and put them on the rectangular table we made, as it has twisted again, this should pull it back straight. Eddie added extra screws and painted the round table we made recently as it was wobbly, it looks much better painted black.
Eddie filled the bird feeders while I watered plants and Cherry trees, Ryan and I found a few ripe cherries which we ate. I pulled up more Hemlock, its highly poisonous so I used goggles, face mask and long thick gloves to pull it up. We will bag it and dispose of it safely. A Pied Wagtail was on one of the quoin stones on the river bank while we were working in the wildflower area.
We posted on Narborough village facebook pages inviting walkers to join us to look round the wildflower meadow on Thursdays in June while its flowering. Paul Dixon saw this and walked down, he had already been to our open days, so I left him to walk around and take pictures of the water wheel and meadow. Paul is a good friend of Barry who used to volunteer at the mill before he became too ill.
Eddie pruned a tree behind the shed so Ryan could get round the back and put the scaffold board back on the walkway by the water butts, the board was used when clearing the wall debris. Eddie will sharpen the loppers at home on his grinder as he noticed the blade is damaged. Ryan saw a Lizard on the pile of logs, it may be nesting in the Lizard box which he installed under the visitor centre which is right next to the logs.
We plan to have a weekend work party this summer to start repairing the damaged walls, now that we have cleared the debris from the river. The grass area between the walls which has been churned up while clearing the wall debris will be repaired after the wall is finished.
Graham Bartlett
Interactive Plan Activity Green Grant Wildflower Meadow Volunteer Previous Next
