Thursday 26/2/26 Fred made an incinerator from an oil drum for us, so we loaded it on the Gator truck which Fred has repaired as we had starting problems. We saw swans in the river on the way to the mill, Eddie took the incinerator and I went on the mower.
Mole hills have brought large stones to the surface which will cause damage or injury if caught in the mower blades. Eddie does litter picking in Swaffham so he borrowed two litter picking sticks which we used today to clear two buckets of stones from our lawns.
Eddie mowed the large lawn then fitted a hook and eye on the timber store door so it stays open when getting wood out, as the catch we fitted was not strong enough.
Anne Marie joined us and weeded the gardens, there are signs of life with lupin leaves beside the tunnel exit and primroses around the cherry tree. Anne Marie and I crossed our bridge to view snowdrops on our bank and daffodils flowering in the grindstones. We pulled ivy off the trees with bird nest boxes so they don’t get overgrown.
Squirrels had damaged a peanut feeder which Eddie repaired by patching the hole using thin pliers to sew it with garden wire. Eddie then filled the bird food and we saw a great tit come down for peanuts, a robin on the back of a bench and long tailed tits in the trees. I heard a lapwing calling and saw it fly down into the field behind the mill.
I took the incinerator over to the rubble heap and unloaded it, then put it up on bricks from the rubble. I burnt cuttings from the area we cleared for the compound and added fallen branches from our river bank which all burnt well. Anne Marie walked back while Eddie and I had hot sausage rolls for lunch in the wagon with the fire alight.
Our wildflower meadow was partly cut and sown last Autumn, but the rest needed cutting so Eddie mowed the grass there. We moved the picnic bench and I mowed the area where it stands and the lawn next to the meadow over the covered brick floor.
Graham Bartlett
Interactive Plan Activity Previous Projects Workers Review 2025
Solitary Bee Box
We made our solitary bee box in November 2024, it has Perspex covering slots in the wood so we can watch progress of the eggs and larvae. There is a mud tray on top which bees use to line the slots and seal between each egg cell, they put a final mud plug at the end of the slot.
We noticed the box was being used on 15/5/25 when we saw some slot ends sealed up, we pulled out the cores and saw the slots filled with eggs and pollen.
Female Solitary bees lay an egg with a supply of pollen and nectar in each cell for the larvae to feed on when it hatches. Bees seal each cell with a mud plug in between.
Male eggs are laid towards the front of the slot so they emerge first and are ready to mate the following year.
Female eggs hatch into larvae and eat the pollen, then hibernate for around 11 months in the nest through summer and winter. The following spring, the larvae pupate, turn into adult bees and emerge from their nest.
I made a similar box for my garden which was also partially used.
We will keep watch on the nest box at the mill and keep this page updated with progress.
In late 2025 we noticed the male eggs in the front part of the slots have hatched and left the box, female eggs are still in the back of the slots.
Graham Bartlett
The Little Egret is white with a black beak and yellow feet, its smaller than the Great White Egret which is the size of a Heron. Back to Wildlife
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The Great White Egret is the same size as a Heron and has a yellow beak and black feet. See also Little Egret. Back to Wildlife
