GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Yesterday was just the start. High pressure's settled in and should be with us through the weekend, giving us a string of sunny, pleasant days and cold nights. Mid-50s today, down into the 20s tonight, winds today from the north.And in case you were wondering about the drought... This week's US Drought Monitor reports for both NH and VT still show "Abnormally Dry" conditions in the counties along both sides of the Connecticut River, but in VT especially, the area's shrinking. There's "Moderate Drought" only in a small corner of southeastern NH. Here's VT, and here's NH.One river, three views. The last time we saw what Peter Bloch was up to, he had his underwater cam and his kayak-cam. Last week, he added a drone, so that he could offer late-fall views from high above, underneath, and right on the Blackwater River in Andover, NH.Lost Woods No. 100! In which Henry decides to add a room to his tree... er, house. Also, Lydia sours on the swamp. As he does every week in this spot, Lebanon writer and illustrator DB Johnson chronicles the doings in his favorite patch of forest—and on his blog this week, he tries out a perfect Sunday Lost Woods strip, in full color.“It is respectful to say that someone stands up for his or her people... I would say that about Jim Wright and that his people included an extraordinarily generous range." Those words from author Louise Erdrich were just a few of the torrent of tributes to the former Dartmouth president at the college's memorial service Wednesday. Over 700 mourners gathered in-person and via livestream as a U.S. Marine Corps honor guard led a procession of luminaries in Alumni Hall. Dartmouth News's Bill Platt sketches the scene and recounts the speeches from Wright's colleagues and family.Newbury VT will take it to the state Supreme Court. On Wednesday night, reports Nora Doyle-Burr in the Valley News, the selectboard voted to appeal last week's Superior Court ruling that the town must consider a proposed six-bed juvenile detention facility as a "group home" for boys with disabilities. The town's DRB last year had turned down the plan, and in a press release yesterday the board wrote, "We wholeheartedly reject the notion that any juvenile who commits a crime is, by default, mentally disabled.” The state says it will "continue its commitment to working with the town" on the issue.SPONSORED: Ski for less! Dartmouth Skiway Early Bird Sale ends in four days! Grab the best deals of the season with the Early Bird Sale. Save up to 35 percent off window rates on season passes across all categories. Check out our new weekly programs for kids and adults in the Snowsports School. Snag the best deal on boards or skis with season leases – these will sell out. Sale ends Monday, 10/31. Sponsored by the Dartmouth Skiway.Looking for Pigman and other stories to make you go "hmmm..." about central Vermont. For the last 51 years, writes Margaret Osha in the Herald, the mystery of just what was going on around Devil's Washbowl in Northfield has gone unsolved. But she was there in 1971 when a couple of high school boys reported something upright running at them, covered in white hair and with the head of a pig. (Turns out, by the way, this is not an uncommon legend.) Osha describes the "unsettling energy" in the area, then moves on to the regular reports of ghosts on Cram Hill in Roxbury.You may have gotten one, too: The story behind that religious paperback that landed in your mailbox. It's The Great Controversy, a Seventh-Day Adventist tract that's been around since the mid-1800s, reports Anne Wallace Allen in Seven Days. The book, "which purports to tell of 'the Vatican’s rising influence in America,'” was sent out to blocks of zip codes around VT, including Norwich, Winooski, and Montpelier, by a Michigan Bible publisher on behalf of donors. "We say, ‘Well, if you don’t like it, throw it away. Or take a look, or put it on a shelf for later,’” says publisher Deb Hall.Hiking Close to Home: Sugarloaf and Goose Pond, Alexandria, NH. The Upper Valley Trails Alliance suggests this 3.5-mile, 1,000-foot gain hike to beautiful fall views of the White Mountains. There's actually a 7-mile network with multiple options, so check the map. Take the Elwell Trail to the vista loop for a view of Newfound Lake near the top of Little Sugarloaf. Then follow the trail to the peak of Big Sugarloaf to rest and take in scenery through the trees. After the summit, lefts put you on the Blue, White, and Snowmobile trails with a stop at Goose Pond on the way back. Parking is on West Shore Road in Bristol.Been paying attention to Daybreak this week? Because the Upper Valley News Quiz has some questions for you. Like, what created a "bubble of joy" in the midst of the pandemic? And when Lebanon High's Birhanu Harriman set a soccer-team record in the mile run, what was he wearing on his feet? And what kind of meal is Bistro Midva's Chad Lumbra planning for his Windsor eatery? You'll find those and other questions at the burgundy link.But wait! How closely were you following VT and NH?
Because Seven Days wants to knowif you know... What did the VT Historical Society just tweeted out ahead of Halloween? What are state scientists enlisting in the fight against the emerald ash borer? And how would you describe the new generation of morticians in the state? Plus more...
And NHPR's got a whole set of questions. Like, what percentage of this year's potential NH voters were either too young to vote in 2016 or didn't live in the state yet? And which state has agreed to pay NH in a settlement over foregone property tax revenues? And which revenue source is fundiing new EV charging stations around the state? Plus more...
Well, I wouldn't call it "eccentric," just different. Kite & Key Media ("If you’re like us, your first question is always: 'What are the facts?'") has a new short video out on "Weird Federalism: America's Most Eccentric State Governments." Like, in Arizona, state mine inspector is an elected position. And it turns out, NH and VT make the cut, too: NH has the largest state legislature (you knew that, but do you know the smallest?) while VT has the shortest state constitution in the country (8,300 words at the moment; Alabama's is 388,882). Oh, also, NH and VT are the only states whose governors run every two years."Pound with Hammer Fist." Okay, this is intense, but riveting. A few weeks ago, a climber was descending a steep ridge on Mt. Futago in Japan when he was suddenly attacked by a bear. His GoPro caught the whole thing. "Looking back at the video, it seems that the bear attacked me to protect the cub," he writes (you can just make out the cub at about 1:24). The climber, a martial artist, fought the bear off, suffering some scratched hands and a sprained wrist. The bear was okay, too. And sheesh, the descent looks hairy enough, never mind the bear.Bouncing back. The French acrobat, juggler, dancer, and all-around "nouveau cirque" performer Yoann Bourgeois is also, the New Yorker once wrote, "an unsurpassed master of the trampoline as a tool for poetry." You may remember his meditative act to "Clair de Lune" a couple of years back. He's just gone viral again for a performance in France that was caught by photographer Mathieu Stern, "Success is not Linear." So true.The Friday Vordle. If you're new to Vordle, you should know that fresh ones appear on weekends using words from the Friday Daybreak, and you can get a reminder email each weekend morning. If you'd like that, sign up here.
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At 5:30 today, author and writer-whisperer Joni Cole leads a "sip-n-prompt" at Still North Books in Hanover. "Come if you love the experience of writing from a prompt to tap into your creativity and stories. Also come if you've never written from a prompt, to discover how fun and weirdly meaningful this experience can be," Still North says. "Writers, newbies, people looking for something to do on a Friday, all are welcome."
Also at 5:30, artist Nick Lamia will give a talk at AVA Gallery in Lebanon about his solo show, "Tailwaters Project." Lamia, a former wilderness guide and sea kayaking expedition leader, now teaches at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. His abstract works often spring from photographs he takes as he wanders both the built and natural landscape.
This evening at 7:30, the Anoymous Coffeehouse brings its laid-back, welcoming, and baked-goods-bonanza vibe back to the First Congregational Church of Lebanon. Singer-songwriter Allison Fay Brown opens things up with her blend of folk, blues, and rock. She'll be followed at 8:15 by jazz vocalist Grace Wallace and guitarist Ed Eastridge—"Their music is so wonderful that, just this once, we suspend the notion that we're a folk music venue to let them do their jazz, bossa nova, and American Songbook material," AnonCoffee writes. And at 9, Reckless Breakfast (Jen Freise, Steve Hennig, Ford Daley, Dave Lloyd, Duff Cummings, Rory Gawler, and Laura Jean Binkley) launch into their bluegrass versions of tunes from pretty much any genre you can imagine.
Also at 7:30, the Geisel School hosts "A Halloween Evening with Horror Film Maker Larry Fessenden" at the Loew Auditorium. They'll be screening Fessenden's modern take on the Frankenstein story, Depraved. Afterward, Fessenden—who was just the subject of a retrospective at NYC's Museum of Modern Art—will join ethicist William Nelson, film prof Jennie Chamberlain, and psychiatry prof Steve Schlozman for a panel discussion and audience questions.
Tomorrow's and Sunday's Upper Valley Baroque concerts are sold out, but UV Baroque has opened up tomorrow's dress rehearsal of the rediscovered Orlandini Mass and Handel's Dixit Dominus to an audience, and those tix are still available. From 11 am to 2 pm at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Hanover. And if you're desperate to get to the Saturday evening performance, you can always try emailing [email protected] to get on their waitlist.
Tomorrow at 5 pm, the Lebanon Opera House kicks off the first of two "spooky silent discos" at the Lebanon Rail Trail Tunnel. Both are with DJ Sean from LIVEMIXKINGS. The 5 pm version is an hour-long kid-friendly version; at 8 pm, it's a classic disco with a bunch of people wearing headphones and looking for all the world to passersby as if they're dancing together to nothing.
Tomorrow at 5:30, Upper Valley Music Center hosts a concert by pedal and traditional Scottish harpist Rachel Clemente at the First Congregational Church of Lebanon. Clemente was U.S National Scottish Harp Champion in 2016 and the winner of Princess Margaret of the Isles Clàrsach Competition (USA) in 2021, and ahead of the concert she'll be leading workshops for aspiring and more practiced harpists. Also, the VT Harp Center will have a harp petting zoo at 3:15.
Also at 5:30, Plainfield's Willow Brook Farm is holding a Halloween fundraiser for the Upper Valley Equestrians team with, among other things, costumed horses, barn trick-or-treating, an outdoor, family-friendly Halloween movie, and a Halloween trail around its outdoor riding arena.
And at 7:30 pm tomorrow, Court Street Arts in Haverhill brings in the SF-based band, Dirty Cello. Blues, rock, Americana, with cellist Rebecca Roudman in the lead, along with two guitarists and a percussionist. The Bailiff's Café will have pre-concert dinners, as well.
Don't need to say much here, but if you're in the mood for a drive, Leo Kottke will be at the Town House in Peterborough NH at 8 pm tomorrow. Not many tickets left, but there were still some as of this morning.
And finally....drumroll.... It's time! Tomorrow evening at 8, it's the Gory Daze Parade in WRJ, your chance to dress up in over-the-top costumes and stroll the town—or to watch everyone else doing it. Festivities get going at 6 with a dance party at the Main Street Museum powered by the Western Terrestrials; parade lineup is at 7:45; after-parade Gum Ball is at 9, back at the MSM.
And to take us into the weekend... Nothing at all to do with Halloween.
Probably one of the greatest rock anthems about, among other things, rock itself, the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" has been around for over 50 years. And though Lou Reed and lead guitarist Steve Hunter delivered countless standout performances of it, one that
definitely
stands out was at a 2007 concert in Sydney, Australia, when Reed and Sharon Jones (of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings) took on the lyrics together. When Reed first asked her to join him, Jones hesitated. "In my mind, I was getting ready to tell Mr. Reed, 'I'm sorry, Lou, if I have to sing this song like you sing the song, then I'm not going to do it,'" she told an interviewer in 2014. "But then he said, 'Let me hear what you're going to do to it.' I thought of Tina Turner and her rock days, and when I did it like that, he loved it. And at the end of that night, he had tears in his eyes and said that he loved it and I took him to the mountain top." Reed died in 2013, Jones three years later,
(Thanks AS & AFG!)
Have a fine weekend, and see you Monday for CoffeeBreak.
The Hiking Close to Home Archives. A list of hikes around the Upper Valley, some easy, some more difficult, compiled by the Upper Valley Trails Alliance. It grows every week.
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