Thursday 3/9/26  Last week we removed two seats from our trailer to make room for the mower, today we loaded the mower into the trailer and took it to the mill as it was time for the hay cut in the meadow and our grass also needed cutting.

We unloaded the mower and Eddie cut all the grass which had grown a lot since last week. As we reversed the mower out of the trailer the cutting deck caught the top of the ramps, so I filed off the corners of the angle brackets which hold the ramps into the trailer frame. Eddie strimmed the edges of the cut grass.

The garden in front of the building has a lot more cosmos in flower now, Emma weeded this garden, then removed nettles from the edges of the lawn over the brick floor. We saw swans in the river next to the bank.

I saved some teasel seed heads, as we want to sow them in our grass meadow, there are plenty left for finches which eat the seeds. I cut down the meadow growth which was mainly thistles, but there was one remaining marigold flower.

I then cut the sloping bank, when I had nearly finished I saw something move, I stopped and looked, there was a leveret (young hare) in the grass, I checked to make sure it wasn’t injured but it was fine. I looked but there were no more hares, they tend to leave only one leveret in each form (nest). I added the leveret sighting to our wildlife sign.

We stopped for lunch and in the afternoon I strimmed around the insect hotels in the meadow. Eddie went to see the horses which were at the gate of their field. Eddie then cut brambles overhanging the track, he found blackberries there which he picked.

Emma cleared weeds and debris away from the upstream brick floor ready for the open days in two weeks, this tidied up this feature and shows the machine bases there.

We saw stock doves go into the barn owl box, they nested there earlier in the year, but we couldn’t switch on the cameras to view inside because we still have no power in the wagon or shed as the faulty solar controller has not yet been replaced. 

Eddie checked the oil and cleaned the air filter in the mower, then brushed the outside of it clean. We loaded it into the trailer and came back to the maltings.

Thursday 10/9/26  When we arrived at the mill we heard a buzzard calling which flew over, we got a really good view of it. There was a muntjac running around in the field beyond the mill. We had tea in the wagon and reviewed what jobs need doing, as the open days are in just over a week on 19 & 20 September.

We noticed nettles and thistles growing in the newly seeded area, so Eddie strimmed them carefully, as seedlings are growing there now, grass should grow soon and wildflowers should appear next spring.

Eddie had sharpened the loppers at home, I used them to cut brambles growing in the new hawthorn trees and in front of the wildlife habitat, then took the cuttings to the incinerator ready for when its safe to burn them all.

last week I saved teasel seeds growing near the logstore, today I sprinkled them in the grass meadow. Eddie cut overhanging branches and brambles on the entrance track ready for when we take visitors to the open days in our trailer.

Some of the insect hotels were leaning over so I strimmed weed stems which were left behind after cutting the meadow last week, so Eddie could tighten screws in the bases. The horses came over to watch us working. 

Eddie brought the pipe from his old Dyson as it might be useful for making or repairing things, he hacksawed off the plastic fittings.

We went across our bridge to check the bench seat on the Nar Valley Way which needed more attention, we tightened screws, added more screws, and put a piece of builders band on the back to hold everything together. The bench is getting to the end of its life so we will try to get a replacement. 

Eddie strimmed around the bench seat and gate frame and I pruned trees on the river bank so visitors at the open days can get a better view of the water wheel. Two Lockheed Hercules planes flew over us while we were working.

Normally we’d fill the water tank which feeds the flushing toilet in the visitor centre before the open days, but we still have no power in the shed to run the pump. We had to charge the strimmer batteries one at a time in the visitor centre.

I got My Story boards and the gazebo from the loft, as Emma needs the gazebo and chairs for an event this weekend, and she suggested displaying My Story at the open days. Eddie got chairs from the compound and we loaded everything in the Gator.

I re-arranged My Story displays on one notice board in case its used at the open days. We then realised we needed to tip the back of the Gator up to check the oil and water, but we had already loaded everything up, so we’ll do that next week.

Graham Bartlett  

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