Blue Flower

Thursday 23/6/22  On arrival I noticed our Cherry tree had some ripe fruit so I tried one and it tasted good, I expect the birds will eat most of them. Eddie oiled the hinges on the wagon doors as they were difficult to open. Emma supplied a large sack of bird seed so we filled up the bird feeders. Eddie weeded and watered the Lupins and noticed there are 3 more flower buds, we also have Poppies coming up beside them.

We repaired the gap at the back of the towed sweeper with a piano hinge holding the fabric back and plastic base together. Two missing pins securing the frame were replaced with studs and Nyloc nuts, mud was cleaned off the bristles, and the spindle ends had tangled grass cut away. We straightened the tension bars but they bent again when we fitted them, although they still work. Spanners from my dad and tools from Eddie’s mum were used for this work as well as the new cycle toolkit. Next time we have the mower on site we will test the collector which will be needed after we cut the wildflower meadow.

After the Mary Poppins incident last week when our umbrella blew away, we drilled a hole and put a bolt through the pole so it can’t be pulled up out of the table. While having lunch we saw a large pair of Geese flying overhead, I thought they were Swans at first.

In the afternoon we crossed our bridge and I put a sign up about Heritage open days on 17 & 18 September, as walkers on the footpath often ask about the next open days. The sign also mentions our projects and volunteer recruitment drive. I topped up the cards and Eddie strimmed the footpath, around the bridge, bench and notice board.

I started fitting lights to the other metal shelving rack when Debra arrived with Labradors Henry and Hector who were playing with branches they found in a hedge. We were discussing the wildflower and green grant projects with Debra and playing with the dogs, who were also trying to eat the remains of a peach, apple and banana from the compost bay.

My last job was putting the illuminated shelves in the new display area and arranging items found while digging the wildflower meadow on them. I connected the battery and it looks good, we will put pictures of the earthworks on the wall behind the shelves. Both illuminated shelves and display screens will be permanently wired into our solar power system which we will install soon as part of our Green Grant.

Friday 24/6/22  Andrew cut the Nar Valley Way public footpath from River Close to Bordon Bridge as it was very overgrown. I posted on the village facebook page so people know its useable again.

Saturday 25/6/22  Four of us worked on the wildflower meadow. David took the tractor and trailer, Fred took the digger and loaded up the trailer with the rest of the rubble, David and I took back about six loads. Fred used some rubble to create a slope up to the river bank and put sifted soil over the whole wildflower area. This is a major milestone in the project, as we now have the landscape we need.

On one of the trips taking rubble back I saw a Muntjac at The Maltings and the Geese on the river bank were very reluctant to move out of the way each time we passed. A Buzzard was flying over while we were working at the mill.

We decided to permanently cover the brick floor next to the wildflower area while we are carrying out earthworks, as it will deteriorate if left exposed. David and Debra cleared weeds and I took them to the compost bay, which is now full. Fred moved Quoin stones out of the way and put a heap of soil there ready to spread out. We may install glass panels to show the extent of the building and we have plenty of photos of the brick floor to put on display when its covered. The covered brick floor will become part of the wildflower meadow. See the Covering Brick Floor article for the next phase of the project.

I fitted the small screen and another picture panel in the new display area. There were several finds today, a bearing race, bolt, nail, metal strap, curved metal plate and a glass bottle top, these were put on the new illuminated shelves.

We discussed how to improve the layout of the visitor centre by removing the large trestle table and putting exhibits on the wall and shelves to give more room, we will do this soon.

Graham Bartlett                

Interactive Plan   Activity   Heritage Open Days  Green Grant   Wildflower Meadow   Volunteer   Previous Next

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