Daybreak Friday 1/8/21

GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!

Low's moving out, high's moving in. The clouds that moved in late yesterday will hang out for just a bit first thing, but dissipate as the morning goes on, the winds pick up, and the sun gets stronger. This will set us up for days of sunny weather. Highs today around freezing, lows in the mid-teens tonight, winds from the north.Meet Lydia, whose painter's studio is in a houseboat. It's Week 6 of DB Johnson's still-new comic strip, "Lost Woods." As you'll remember, "Lost Woods" is running in this spot on Fridays, a week's worth of strips at a time. Scroll right to see what happens, left to catch up on previous weeks.Weigh in on local farmers markets. Vital Communities is trying to get a sense of how farmers markets around the region worked for their customers in this pandemic year, what made them good to shop at, and how they might be improved. They've got a survey running: seven quick questions."Soup puts the heart at ease..." And you don't just have to make it at home, Susan Apel points out in her latest Artful post. There's Simon Pearce's cheddar soup ("Words fail," Susan writes), the clam chowder you can get from Boisvert's Curbside Kitchen truck (gives Legal Seafood's a run for its money, she says), and the soups to go from Carpenter & Main, which are ever changing. Plus: soupy quotes and advice from Jacques Pépin. "Weather’s cold. Soup is hot.... And while slurping is still considered rude in America, no one will know you’re doing it if you’re dining alone."No, not otter bathtubs... Pancake ice! Thanks to those who wrote in to put a name to the phenomenon in Jay Davis's photo of ice disks. Steve Daly, a retired ice engineer at CRREL, says pancake ice is common "in rivers, lakes, and the oceans, particularly around Antarctica. It is somewhat unusual to see pancake ice in brooks because of the small size of the brooks and because steep drops in the brooks break up the pans. The pancake ice shown likely formed in the perfectly placed pool where they are seen." More at the link.Hiking close to home: the Trescott Water Supply Lands. The Upper Valley Trails Alliance weighs in to suggest checking out the Trescott network: 13 miles of trails over 1,165 acres less than two miles from downtown Hanover, with multiple entrances and connections to Oak Hill. The network is multi-use—with historical and interpretive signs—allowing not just for hiking, but for mountain biking (it's got one of the few flow trails in the region). One note: Hanover manages the reservoirs and water filtration plant, which are closed to the public: Please obey the posted signs.NH House puts the brakes on town meeting bill. As you'll remember, the Senate Wednesday passed a measure to let towns postpone town meeting and count absentee ballots early. The House, however, refused to expedite its consideration, which would have allowed towns to start planning now, and it's unclear when it might come up. The bill's Senate sponsor says towns could still hold town meeting over Zoom or keep postponing every three days until they get to a suitable date, reports the Monitor's Ethan DeWitt.VT, NH swear in guvs, other officials. With heightened police presence in both state capitals after Wednesday's events in Washington. In Concord, demonstrators protesting Gov. Chris Sununu's statewide mask mandate and other restrictions gathered outside the State House while the ceremony—which took just 15 minutes—went on inside. In Montpelier, Gov. Phil Scott was sworn in on the Statehouse steps, then in turn administered the oath of office to other statewide officials—except for Lt. Gov. Molly Gray, who was took the oath of office inside.VT State Auditor questioned for focus on economic development tax incentives. Auditor Doug Hoffer "seems to be very intently focused on these [incentive] programs not because of the risk involved but because of his disagreement with the policy,” Woodstock Democratic Rep. Charles Kimball tells VTDigger's Anne Wallace Allen. A former state rep, Oliver Olsen, has taken it on himself to look into Hoffer's work on one incentive, arguing that he "isn’t following the standards he sets for other state agencies," Allen writes. The council that oversees the program is meeting today to discuss the matter. VT moves police, firefighters into top tier for vaccine. The move comes after police and fire agencies pressed to include their personnel with the ambulance and rescue-squad members who were already part of the first wave of people to be vaccinated. "We wanted to be able to do our job and help at this time," St. Johnsbury Police Chief Timothy Page, who serves as president of the VT Association of Chiefs of Police, tells Seven Days' Derek Brouwer. "The only way we can do that is by remaining healthy."You might have to pick and choose, but ski trails are open out there. The Rutland Herald's James Biggam reports that 37 percent of Alpine terrain is open in VT, compared to 70 percent at this time last year, but that's 14 percent more than 10 days ago. Killington's got the most open terrain in the East, Prospect Nordic down near Bennington's still in good shape... and plenty of other Alpine and Nordic areas in central and southern VT are open. Biggam's got a rundown of conditions and open trails as of yesterday.So, umm... On Sunday, 39-year-old Gabor Rakonczay will set out on his second attempt (he also tried last January) to become the first person to paddleboard cross the Atlantic. He plans to paddle for 12-16 hours a day, and figures it'll take 60 to 70 days. He built the board himself, with storage compartments—accessible from the deck—for food and equipment; he'll use a desalinator for drinking water. And no, there's no superstructure for shelter.Monkey-faced orchids! Yeah, I didn't know about them, either. Or about the Flying Duck Orchid. Or the White Egret Orchid. Or...

Last numbers for the week.

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, a West Coast Jazz combo based in Seattle (seems appropriate, right?) with their cover of the Shins' 2001 classic "New Slang." Just sit back and slide toward the weekend...

Want to catch up on Daybreak music? Check out the Spotify playlist generously maintained by Sarah and Nelson Rooker!

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