Thursday 22/10/26 I brought some wood from home for making and repairing things and rotten wood for getting bonfires going, we took it all to the mill and Eddie put it in the timber store and by the incinerator.
We didn’t light the fire in the wagon today but Eddie cleared the grate and put ash on the gardens, as it deters slugs and is good for the soil. The cosmos and yellow daisies are still upright and flowering after I put link stakes around them last week.
We had a cup of tea in the wagon and saw a grey wagtail on the trench wall which flew up onto the wagon roof. Emma joined us and we watched blue tits eating peanuts on the camera screen, then I went outside and got photos of them.
Edd Smith of BBC Radio Norfolk visited today, so we put the information boards out. I went to collect Edd and showed him around the mill, he has a feature called 'Where's Your Edd At', where listeners try to guess where he is. Edd thought the mill would make a good mystery location after I asked Radio Norfolk to publicise our open days.
I was interviewed by Edd about the history of the mill and how I got involved. I introduced Edd to Emma and Eddie and they had a chat, then I took him back to The Maltings. The interview was broadcast on Monday 26/10/26 at around 9:15am, the whole programme is now available on iplayer for 28 days.
When I got back to the mill Eddie and Emma had put the signs away and Emma had weeded the newly seeded area which has lots of growth, then strimmed nettles and tidied the railway wagon.
The painting of the water wheel we were given at Mills Weekend has been framed, so Eddie moved the horse bridle on display in the visitor centre and put up the painting in its place, which looks good. Eddie also filled the bird food.
Eddie had taken the loppers home again as they were still not cutting properly, he ground the levers away to make them close fully and tried them out on some overhanging brambles today, they now cut much better.
It was too cold for lunch outside so we sat in the wagon. In the afternoon we all dug out one of the compost bays as its been in use since late 2021, we filled 7 sacks with compost, then I got a builders bag from the compound and we half filled it but its too heavy to move. I stacked the compost sacks in the compound for use on our gardens.
In 2024 we planted 3 oak trees in the meadow and watered them through the summers, one died so I brought another but that also died. We went to the meadow to assess them today, the one near the slope is doing well, the other is smaller but healthy. There is no sign of the others apart from the support pole from the tree I brought.
Thursday 29/10/26 We planned to bring the forklift to take the builders bag of compost to The Maltings, but trees would need cutting along the track to clear the forklift mast. Fortunately Fred brought the bag back last weekend, saving us a lot of work. This compost will be used on Beryl's gardens, we kept some for our gardens at the mill.
Our next open days will be September 2027 as we'll now open just once a year, as the weather is usually better, with higher attendance and less chance of birds nesting in the water wheel. We also get good support from Heritage Open Days, but not from SPAB who organise Mills Weekend in May. Dates will be known nearer the time.
Graham Bartlett
Interactive Plan Activity Previous Projects Listen to Interview 5 Years Ago
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 were still in the back of the slots, but in April 2026 we noticed all the eggs were gone, so the females have hatched.
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
