Tuesday 13/1/26 We could only go to the mill on Tuesday this week due to other commitments. Eddie lit the fire and I filled the bird feeders, the Nyger we put out recently had not been eaten. We saw blue tits and long tailed tits eating peanuts.
Last week the ground was frozen so we couldn’t dig a camera cable trench for the nest box we made, but today the soil had thawed. Eddie started digging from the visitor centre where the nest box is, and I started at the wagon which has the screen.
We ran the cable in the trench and put a polythene bag around the connection plug, then filled in the trench and packed it down with the turf on top. I put the cable in trunking at the bottom of the down pipe of the visitor centre and clipped it underneath the wagon to prevent it being damaged with spades or strimmers.
We switched on the cameras and tested the installation at several stages to make sure it was still working, it gives a good view inside the blue tit box, which we watched while having hot sausage rolls for lunch in the wagon with the fire alight.
We planned to use two wooden boxes we found in the visitor centre loft as bird boxes, but they're made of thin plywood so they’re only suitable for storage. Today I transferred bird feeding things from a broken cardboard box into one of the boxes, and paint brushes and rollers into the other one which tidies up the shed.
Our log store we made recently had sunk into the soil one end, so Eddie levered it up with our pallet breaker bar and I put pieces of wood under the legs and checked it with the spirit level. I raked mole hills flat as there were a lot more today.
Debra arrived with three Labradors she is looking after, Hector, Willow and Honey. They chased sticks and went in the river, Eddie gave them dog biscuits. Eddie saw a great egret in the field again and just before we left, three swans flew over the mill.
Thursday 22/1/26 On our way to the mill we saw a heron and great egret flying near The Maltings and when we got near the mill a muntjac was running ahead of us and we saw it run through the mill.
Last week I sold my campervan and I brought a crate of things from it to use at the mill. We sorted everything out while having tea by the fire in the wagon. There's a kitchen roll which we had run out of, oven gloves, levelling ramps for mower maintenance which I put in the compound, a sheet to cut up for rags, plastic mugs for outside use, screwdriver set, can of WD40, gas lighters and a head torch which I fitted new batteries in, plus many other items. Eddie put the utensils in the kitchen drawer.
Last Friday Jan and I walked past the mill on the Nar Valley Way and noticed there was a fallen tree just down from the mill, so today we loaded up saws and loppers and went down to the tree. We cut ivy away then cut up the trunk and cleared it aside. We could then see there was another fallen tree a bit further down so we cut that up and cleared it as well, we brought back a few pieces for firewood.
Soon after we got back to the mill we were joined by Carol who is interested in volunteering with us, I showed her round the site and explained all the features, then we went in the visitor centre to see the finds and displays. I showed Carol a video of the water wheel turning and a slideshow of the meadow in flower.
Eddie filled the bird food then made us all coffee and we sat in the wagon by the fire and discussed volunteering at the mill. We tested the nest cameras as there were mole hills near our cable we laid last week, we thought moles might have damaged it, but all cameras are still working. The barn owl box has more nesting material than last week, this box has been used in the past by jackdaws and stock doves.
On our way back we stopped so that Carol and I could take pictures of a swan in the river and a little egret which flew up from the river bank when we went past.
Graham Bartlett
Interactive Plan Activity Previous Projects Displays Review 2025
