Thursday 5/6/25 My sister in law Sylvia gave me things for the mill, as I helped clear her loft and shed. There are screws & hardware; canes (for repairing insect hotels); oil and grease (for our chainsaw, mowers and water wheel); a sledgehammer which we often need; Hammerite paint; sealant gun; electrical items (cable, terminal blocks & cable clips); tripods (for taking photos of us working); and a camping table.
We loaded up everything and took it to the mill with my mitre saw and a box of biscuits that Emma bought us, which I unpacked and put in tins, in case mice get in the wagon again. Eddie lit the fire and put sausage rolls in the oven as it was a cold rainy day. The nest camera showed that the Great Tits have all fledged as expected.
Canes were missing from two insect hotels, so we picked up all the fallen canes we could find and took the hotels to the visitor centre for repair. Eddie cut more canes to length and drilled holes through them as some had solid centres. Eddie filled the hotels with canes and I cut wire mesh and stapled it on the front to hold the canes in place.
When it stopped raining we took the hotels back to the meadow and staked them down. Eddie viewed our Bee box, the eggs will hatch into larvae and eat the pollen. There are more Cornflowers in the meadow with a single Poppy. White Campion are growing at the base of an insect hotel. We saw a lot of Demoiselles in the meadow.
Eddie put away everything Sylvia gave us in the shed, then we had our hot sausage rolls for lunch in the wagon. We saw a Pied Wagtail on the bricks, Grey Wagtail on the water wheel and a Goldfinch eating Nyger seed after Eddie filled the bird feeders. There was a Green Woodpecker flying around the mill as well.
Debra got us a replacement rope seal for the fire door, so Eddie wire brushed the door groove and checked the heatproof glue was still useable. We’ll fit the seal next time we light the fire as it needs heat to set the glue, but must be applied when cold.
I watered plants Anne Marie put in recently, it has rained but the garden under the building overhang doesn't get much water. Sunflowers and Aquilegia are growing well, Eddie put canes in and tied plants to them, and pulled bindweed off the plant stems.
Before the open days, Rob gave us three Owl boxes which he made, we need to put them up in suitable locations before next March. We put them in the visitor centre loft for now. On our way back we saw Swans with two small Cygnets on the river.
Thursday 12/6/25 As it was a hot sunny day Eddie took the mower and cut all the grass at the mill. I went to the wildflower meadow to see what was growing, there are not as many flowers as last year despite re-seeding last October and this March.
The cornfield flower area over the brick floor has been left as a lawn this year as the soil is too thin for flowers, there was a butterfly box there which has been broken beyond repair by birds trying to get insects out of the canes at the top, so I took it away as there were no butterflies in it. We will scrap the box but the stand may be useful for something else.
Anne Marie walked down with more Aquilegia which she planted in the garden in front of the visitor centre. Anne Marie extended the garden upto the shed door and put some other new plants there and watered them in, as well as watering the rest of the gardens.
One of the insect hotels in the meadow was falling over so I took it to the shed and re-fitted the legs using longer screws which has fixed it, I put it back in the meadow and staked it down. All the canes are still in the insect hotels after last week's repairs. There was a red Cinnebar moth flying in the meadow.
The Oak saplings in the meadow looked like they needed water, so I filled up our large water container and took it to the meadow with a watering can and watered all four trees, one of them has disappeared in the long grass but I watered the ground by the marker post, in case the tree has survived. Eddie cut paths through the meadow, we moved the picnic bench so he could cut the clearing where it goes.
There were thick nettles in front of the compost bays, so I strimmed them down while Eddie cut the lawn in front of the wagon with the push mower. I cut the area around the small Oak tree with the ride on mower as this will become part of the main lawn.
I brought a new sack of bird seed which I emptied into the container, then we filled the feeders and topped up the birds drinking water. We sat outside at lunch time but didn’t see any birds at the mill today, although we did see the Swans and their two Cygnets again on our journey back along the river.
Graham Bartlett
Interactive Plan Activity Volunteer Previous Next Projects Mill Workers
