By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot

The Seat of Sadness

Way back when stories for The Citizen newspaper and Rural Voice were cut out with exacto knives, waxed, and laid out on the page, there was the team of Dianne Josling and Joan Caldwell typing out all the material on these giant typeset machines. They worked side by side, every single day. I was just a teen back then but I can still picture it in my mind as something special though perhaps I did not recognize it at the time.
     Years later, I returned to the offices of North Huron publishing and there was Dianne and Joan, still sitting side by side, laughing and supporting each other. Many years passed while I was out of the picture for a while to have a bunch of babies and work at the Ontario Farmer. In my 40’s I returned to North Huron Publishing and what did I find — Dianne and Joan, sitting side-by-side, working away for the company.
     Work mates and the best of friends, seeing this pair bolster each other all these years has just done my heart good. They are loyal, creative, hard-working, dependable women .... real backbones of this publishing company.
     So it was a shock to the system when Dianne announced her retirement. Man, we cried! She 100 per cent deserves it and I hope Dianne loves the extra time to spend with her family. But oh, to see that empty chair beside Joan is hard to take. When I have a problem that needs fixing with software or design, Dianne is the go-to person. She has a wicked sense of humour and while she doesn’t love to write, that woman can certainly weave a tale with spoken words. Dianne grew up on a farm and her years doing the Markets, Agri-law and Federation pages means she probably knew as much about agriculture as anyone. Dianne worked for this company her whole life and that kind of loyalty is priceless.
         All the best, Dianne. Know that no one will be able to replace your spot ... right beside Joan.

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Transformative Performance

Change in the company made me ponder change in general and nothing represents the positive aspect of change more than the metamorphisis of a caterpillar to a butterfly.
Gardening is a passion of mine and like most gardeners who play in the soil, we ponder our role in the natural world.
Many organizations are adopting the “One Health” approach which integrates the health of nature, people and wildlife though a single lens. This connection invites us to partner with nature and set the stage for a stunning backyard performance.
Milkweed —common, swamp and butterfly milkweed — are three of the main players in my native perennial beds. Gorgeous plants with their sunset hues, they attract Monarch butter-flies to feed before resuming their journey. Left behind are tiny eggs that hatch into voracious striped caterpillars who then weave a stunning cocoon noted for it’s band of gold. Even though we know the ending of this particular performance, taking a seat to watch this show never ceases to amaze. Growing native plants and renewing our connection the natural world is a positive change.