Thursday 8/2/24  We saw two Swans near the mill on our way in and their Cygnet was by the tree at the other end of the mill. It was a cold wet day so Eddie lit the fire in the wagon. Beryl gave us a big tin of biscuits and a tub of Poppy seed heads, we'll get the seeds out and sow them on the wildflower meadow in Spring.

We got another flat tyre on the Gator truck, so Ryan walked back to get a golf buggy so we could take the wheel back to the garage to be repaired. Fred had loosened all the Gator wheel bolts slightly so we were able to jack the Gator up and get the wheel off with our tools.

Debra and Hector the Labrador walked down, Hector found a stick to play with and Debra sorted out the remaining bags of rotten logs, putting some out for wildlife habitat and burning some in the incinerator which Eddie got alight and kept going all day. Ryan pulled a bag of logs across and I put some around the Hedgehog boxes under the wagon, as they prefer their boxes to be covered and surrounded with natural materials.

One of the insect hotels was leaning over so I cut a piece of batten and fitted it to the stand to hold it upright. Eddie filled up the small seed feeders which had fallen on the ground, we saw birds using them straight away.

Two weeks ago I replaced the missing perch from the large seed feeder with a bolt, today I removed the bolt and put a piece of heat shrink sleeving on it, Ryan used the flame of the weed burner to shrink it onto the bolt, this will give birds claws a better grip. We filled the feeder and put it back on the feeding station. 

Debra cleared burst sandbags and debris from the area where the bags of logs were, the rubble heaps next to it will be cleared when the damaged walls are repaired, some rubble will be used for infill behind the walls. The builders bags of sand will also be used for wall repairs, any surplus sand and rubble will be removed from site and the whole area will be grassed over.

Eddie took a barrow of logs from the woodstore into the wagon and stacked them by the fire. We had a last cup of tea, collected the repaired wheel from the garage and put it back on, put the tools away, then locked up and came back. On our journeys we saw the Egret flying over the river.

Thursday 15/2/24  When we arrived at the mill Eddie saw three Hares running in the field behind the visitor centre. The river was very fast flowing and quite high again, almost level with the lead in to the brick floor.

I found a historic nut, nail and chain link on the ground near the compost bins, so I put them on the illuminated shelves in the visitor centre with the other finds which are on display.

Eddie filled all the bird seed feeders and I filled the peanut and suet ball feeders. Eddie saw a Grey Wagtail in the river and on the roof of the visitor centre, and a Pied Wagtail on the hammer mill. I noticed a solitary Crocus in flower beside the grindstone, we hope it multiplies and spreads.

We put our footbridge across and went over the river along the Nar Valley Way footpath to get more wood from where a tree fell down. The Snowdrops on our bank look good from the footpath. We pulled the tree trunks up the bank and cut them small enough to get into wheelbarrows and took them back to the mill. A Cygnet was just downstream from the fallen tree.

I put a piece of quiche in the oven above the fire which I had for lunch in the wagon. In the afternoon I got the saw horse out and sliced the logs up smaller with the chainsaw so they fit our stove. I split the large diameter pieces with the log splitter and put them by the fire in the wagon.

Eddie removed screws from a piece of wood I salvaged and put it with the other long wood behind the building, then moved the table and chairs so the grass can grow evenly. We decided to cut the grass next time we get good weather as its starting to grow now.

Graham Bartlett  

Interactive Plan   Activity    Green Grant    Wildflower Meadow    Gallery    Volunteer     Previous  Next