Tough On Crime, Good....Prison Farms Bad.

I agree with the Conservative position that we need to get tough on crime. We also need to totally revamp the juvenile system. What I do not agree with is the closure of prison farms. This is a really bad idea and whoever is now in charge of the prisons should rethink this position.

Inmates at Frontenac Institution don’t have to work on the farm, but the ones who choose to rise at 4:00 to 4:30 a.m. Inmates resent all the dead time in prison -- waiting for gates to open, for programs to commence, for the institution’s schedule to unfold. On “the farm camp,” as they call it, there is no dead time. As any farmer will tell you, the work is both endless and endlessly rewarding. Up to 75 inmate farmers at Frontenac learn about punctuality, self-reliance, safety around large animals, the operation of heavy machinery, work ethic, crop management, animal husbandry and a great deal else. 

What is so bad about inmates learning to care for something other than themselves?  It doesn't even have to be animals, it could just be having a garden. Locking up people who deserve it is good for society, but giving them no skills while they are locked up does nothing to allow them to succeed when they are released back into society.

Conservatives should be the first ones to embrace a program that actually teaches real life skills. I fail to see what is good about canceling programs that help inmates get back to a quiet and simple way of life.  How can the cancellation of these programs be justified? I want more prison farms not fewer. I want the inmates to have a sense of purpose. As a gardener, nothing is more soothing to the spirit than working the earth, planting some seeds and harvesting the results.

The Conservative government should rethink the closing of prison farms. I can see no downside to prisons with inmate tended vegetable gardens that help feed the inmates. It goes so against the Conservative grain I can't believe MP's aren't pushing for these programs to be expanded not abolished. It might be time to e-mail your MP's.

100 Mile Rule? How About 10 Blocks?

I tried an experiment today to see if people are buying into the 100 mile rule for fresh produce. I put out a basket with fresh leaf lettuce in it and added a sign saying "Please take". As of 10:00 tonight, only two out of six bags has been taken. Guess people aren't as green as we have been told!

Off on holidays for a few weeks. Going to Kelowna, Vancouver, Vancouver Island, back to Kelowna and then home. We have booked a cabin on the island and also a 5 hour salmon fishing trip. Yumm! We are going to catch and eat!

After a week of untimely deaths and riots, I want to leave you for a few weeks, with a post that will calm your souls. Nothing calms mine more than gardening and gardens. This year everything is at least 3 weeks behind thanks to global cooling. By now my baskets should have been overflowing with flowers, maybe in the time we are gone they will pick up the pace. Thankfully I have a wonderful neighbour who watches over my baskets for me.

The journey so far:

The sprouts, still being coddled inside.


What I did with them when I booted them outside:

1. Moss baskets, they take a long time to put together, but they are much more natural than plastic baskets.


2. A homemade fountain and various pots surrounding it.


3. This is a very busy place. My old wagon crashed on the rocks, and was abandoned by all but the gnome. The fountain has attracted all manner of animals, from ducks to frogs to ship Captains. It seems everyday I find something to add to the pond.


4. Another gnome has found a home on our bench along with some baskets that are just starting to bloom.


5. I go to garage sales to get my baskets. It just so happened that I collected some baby furniture, and it makes great planters and a fun theme for one corner of the yard.


6. Remember Rigger not being allowed into the veggie garden when we were planting it?


7. Well, this is the garden now, the potatoes are flowering and I am hoping that we will have beans (green and yellow) by the time we get back. New baby potatoes and fresh beans with salmon....Yummm!!


Those are not weeds in the garden, that is dill, and I am taking 32 sandwich bags full of it to my family in Kelowna. It is easy to freeze and it retains most of its flavour even frozen. Dill and salmon and lemon...hungry yet?

Take a break, relax, forget about politics. I will be back soon, hopefully with a picture of a huge salmon I caught!