Over-run by violets

I have large patches of violets on the flower beds, in the cracks in the concrete near the house, around the fruit bushes and in between the deep-beds of the vegetable patch.

I regret the need to get rid of them, as they start flowering over the winter and then are in full bloom for the insects in early spring, but I want the space, and some soil for other plants to free-seed. I've had 3 sessions so far pulling up the violets. Some come up easily, some need tugging.

The problem is they take up so much room! I've barely half way through and I have filled up half of last year's dangerous-weed bin*, all of this year's, and the large compost bin my neighbours didn't want.

*I have 3 dustbins with some drainage holes drilled near the bottom. I put in dangerous weeds not fit for the compost (eg couch grass) plus ordinary stuff when the ordinary compost bins are full. Each spring I empty the oldest and use that for that year. Anything dodgy can go into one of the other bins to rot down for another year.

Relaxing earth hour

Yesterday evening I was home AND  I remembered, so I turned off my lights for earth hour. I lit some candles in the sitting room, did some meditation, stoked a cat's tummy, did some yoga.

Then, as the clocks were going forward so it was 10.30 new time, I went to bed.

There would need to be an awful lot of people participating to make earth hour show up as less demand at the power stations, but it would at least show a lot of people cared.

Though more important than this is to be careful with energy use, direct and indirect (so buy less stuff!) every day! Me, I have a way to go but I am getting better at not buying stuff, including being more discerning at what I buy in charity shops.

Tonight I have no heating, but Friday night I had the wood burning stove lit, and yesterday evening I had the stove lit and the central heating on. I have enough off-cuts remaining for an evening's burning.