Thursday 7/11/24 It was a cold day so Eddie lit the fire in the railway wagon, we kept it going all day and brought more logs in from outside to top up our supplies ready for winter, we put them beside the fire to keep dry.
One of the Oak saplings in the wildflower meadow is not doing very well, so Eddie asked George at Oxburgh Estate where he also volunteers for advice, he suggested putting mulch around it, so Eddie brought a bag of mulch today which he put around all three trees after we weeded round them. We also got bark off of our logs, broke it up and put it around the trees.
We had a visit from Julie and Ashleigh from Market Rasen with baby Isaac and their dogs Apollo and Thor. They had read the article about the mill in a copy of KL Magazine in Beryl’s holiday cottage where they were staying, so they walked down to see the mill. I showed them around the site, they watched a video of the water wheel turning on our screen and looked at the finds on display in the visitor centre.
I chained up the water wheel to the feed pipe outlet and a fitting in the wall, as the pipe in front of the wheel we normally chain it to has come away. Our cycle rack got damaged by the digger when working on the wildflower meadow, so Eddie removed it and used Geoff’s sash clamp to bend the damaged part to fit the frame properly and re-assembled it. We’ll paint it before putting it back as its going rusty.
Last week the pull cord handle of Barry’s mower broke off, today Eddie removed the cover to access the starter cord which I tied back onto the handle. Eddie tested it and the mower started, so he cut the grass where the cycle rack was and cut down the Cornfield flower area, leaving all the Teasels for the birds to eat the seeds. We also checked the oil and water in the Gator truck which Fred has repaired with a new tyre after the puncture we got last time.
We had a rainwater leak under the window in our railway wagon, we had put Duck tape over the gap as a temporary repair, then we sealed it properly but we had to remove white marks left from the tape, today Eddie used white spirit and rubbed off most of the excess sealant and glue, then I repainted it.
Wildlife seen today was a Grey Wagtail on the river bank, a few birds on the feeders which we filled up and a Swan in the river beside the mill. On our way back we saw two Cygnets in the river.
Saturday 9/11/24 We had a weekend work party so Ryan and Tabitha could join us. Tabitha and her partner Pete brought their Collie Dog, Mori, there were loose sheep on the footpath opposite the mill, we thought Mori might round them up back into their field, but we heard the farmer collecting them later. We got the fire going in the wagon and Ryan and I put sausage rolls in the oven above ready for our lunch.
Kings Lynn U3A Walkers visited, they last saw the site at our first open days in 2015. I showed them round and explained our recent grants. They saw our visitor centre with finds on display as well as slideshows of us making the meadow, the meadow in flower, the model mill, and a video of the water wheel turning. I told them about the KL Magazine article, then they carried on with their circular walk.
After a cup of tea outside, we unloaded the tools and materials I brought to make a Solitary Bee box with Perspex panels, so the larvae will be visible. I cut slots in a piece of wood at home with my tracksaw a few days ago to save time, so today I cut it into six lengths, then put them together and used a windproof lighter to scorch marks on the end, Bees use the marks to find their way back to the right slots easily.
Anne Marie walked down with a lovely chocolate Malteser cake she made for us which we enjoyed. Anne Marie then checked the gardens to see if any bulbs or Poppies were coming through. The new Cyclamen on the river bank are still flowering well.
Pete set up the rest of the tools and I cut six pieces of Perspex to hold the wooden cores together and cover the slots. Pete drilled and countersunk the Perspex, Tabitha peeled off the protective film and assembled the cores. I cut and fitted boards to block off the back of the slots. Pete fitted screws for pulling out the cores to view the larvae.
Tabitha took a barrow of bird food to fill up the feeders and discovered Mori doesn’t like wheelbarrows, as he was barking at it whenever she moved it. Ryan was playing with him and helped to fill the bird feeders.
I cut up a board that Howard gave us to make a frame to hold the three cores and Pete drilled and assembled the frame. I cut parts for a stand using wood left over from refurbishing our bridge a few weeks ago, Ryan assembled the stand while I fitted a back panel to the Bee box and fitted a mud tray made from a cake box on top.
Mud is for Bees to seal in between each larvae, they lay an egg with some pollen, then a mud seal followed by the next one until the slot is full, then seal the end with a large mud plug. The eggs hatch into larvae which eat the pollen and become pupae, then turn into adults and emerge through the mud plugs from the slots. We'll be able to watch their progress.
Ryan fitted the box to the stand and tested it by sliding out the cores. We stored the box in the visitor centre, we’ll decide where to put it next time, they need to face south. We’ll also fill the mud tray with a mixture of modelling clay and soil which bees need.
Graham Bartlett
Interactive Plan Activity Green Grant Wildflower Gallery Volunteer Previous Next Last Year Latest Finds Solitary Bees
