RABBIT RABBIT, UPPER VALLEY!
Chance of showers early, becoming sunny. The region neared or broke high-temp records yesterday, but there won't be a repeat today: Low pressure that came through last night is bringing a cold front today, with a chance of rain this morning and today's mid-60s highs lasting only until early afternoon, when temps start to drop toward the mid 30s overnight. It's going to be pretty gusty out there for a good bit of the day, with winds from the west.Tree farmers of the year. What's on Erin Donahue's trail cam are squirrels busily caching acorns. But as Ted Levin writes, "they have small territories and rarely store acorns far from home, mostly in disorganized piles. As foresters, blue jays deserve far more kudos. Jays harvest healthy nuts and plant them one at a time, often miles from the parent tree. In less than a month, a flock of 50 jays planted 150,000 acorns, 58 percent of the total nut crop of 11 oaks. After the Ice Age, jays engineered the northward spread of oaks 380 yards/year. Spruce only moved north 270 yards/year, their seeds carried by the wind."Heads up: 12A bridge in Claremont will be closed during the daytime on Monday. Weather permitting, NHDOT says, crews will close the 12A bridge over the Sugar River from 7 am to 3 pm for final paving, after months of work. A detour will be in place to direct drivers around the closure. Woodstock Aqueduct vote saw one of the heaviest turnouts in decades. Town Hall was full up, Lauren Dorsey writes in the Standard, as nearly 500 people showed up to vote on whether the town should acquire the venerable privately held water company. “It took a long time to get 485 people through the voting line, checked and registered,” says Charlie Kimbell, who facilitated the group that studied the acquisition. “[But] democracy is messy." Voters approved the acquisition overwhelmingly. Dorsey traces the work that went into it, and what's next, including a December vote on acquiring the Vondell reservoir.After fire, Barnard man loses home, car, peace of mind. Much of the coverage of last Sunday's fire, which burned 60 acres, put it in the context of a spate of VT and NH woodland fires sparked by high winds and dry conditions. But in The Herald, Darren Marcy focuses on 66-year-old Richard Keating, whose home was at the center of the fire, most likely caused by improper disposal of ashes from a wood stove. He suffered burns on his legs, as well as the loss of everything he owned. He "is a man of the woods," his daughter wrote on a GoFundMe page. "The event is taking a toll not only on his day-to-day security but on his big heart as well.”
After years of planning and almost a year of construction, new climbing gym opens in Lebanon. The Notch has been in the works ever since Noah Lynd and Josh Garrison hatched a plan back in 2020 during a climbing trip to Utah to bring a full-on climbing gym to the Upper Valley. They bought a 2.5-acre parcel on LaBombard Road, off Route 120 near Dartmouth Coach, in 2022, broke ground last winter, and today it comes to life, with over 100 roped climbing routes on walls, a bouldering section, plus classes, training, and a fitness area. Grand opening ceremony is today at noon. SPONSORED: Calling all film lovers! Enjoy a weekend of new movies, conversations, parties and more at the Dartmouth Film Society 75th Alumni Fest. From Nov. 7-10, as part of a year-long celebration of the oldest college film society in the country, Dartmouth alumni in film, media, and entertainment will share their perspectives on the rapidly changing entertainment landscape and Dartmouth’s role in cinema. Festival passes provide access to all screenings and panels, as well as the festival party on Friday, Nov. 8. Get your pass or individual ticket now! Sponsored by the Hopkins Center for the Arts.A look ahead at Opera North 2025. Before a crowd at AVA Gallery this week, the company announced its upcoming summer season, and Susan Apel was there, she writes in Artful. Rachel Portman's relatively new The Little Prince will include both kids and circus artists at the center of the tent (ON sets up in a circus tent at Blow-Me-Down Farm in Cornish each summer); The Marriage of Figaro will be set in the 1920s; and Man of La Mancha... well, you can probably sing along already. As Susan notes, artistic director Louis Burkot spends the off-season touring the country to audition young singers to find resident artists.East Corinth and its more-than-a-moment in the spotlight. So, what is it actually like when your village becomes a movie set? Which, of course, is what happened to E. Corinth when the original Beetlejuice was filmed there in 1987, and again last year with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. VT Public's Daniela Fierro headed to the town on the Waits River recently to find out. She enlists Wade Pierson, an E. Corinth native, as a guide. “Even before there was word of a second [film] coming, I couldn’t mow my lawn without people stopping and asking directions,” he says. There's a 2-minute film to go with the radio story.Hiking Close to Home: Pine Park Trails, Hanover. The well-known park contains a 3.5-mile network of easy and moderate trails and is the oldest conservation area in Hanover, says the UVTA. You can walk, run, sit peacefully, and take in the Connecticut River, Girl Brook, and old growth forest. From Main Street in the center of Hanover, take East Wheelock along the Dartmouth Green, turn left on College Street, go down to Maynard St. and turn left to Rope Ferry Road, right on Rope Ferry to nearly the end, then left on Hilton Field Lane to the parking lot for the trailhead.Been paying attention to Daybreak? Because Daybreak's Upper Valley News Quiz has some questions for you. Like, what's another name for the just-completed Bridge #7 in Hartford? And what's community members' plan for Coburns' General Store in Strafford? Those and other questions at the link.But wait! How closely were you following VT and NH?
Because Seven Days wants to knowif you know what unusual vessel a Vermonter just paddled down Otter Creek.
And NHPR's got a whole set of questions about doings around the Granite State—like, what did the multi-agency investigation 'Operation Night Cat' recently uncover?
“I made her lemon pie, which didn't have any sugar. It was very sour.” That is serious dedication for a cemetery sleuth, which is one thing you could call Erin Moulton. She's the reference and genealogy librarian at the Derry Library, and another thing you could call her is an advocate for learning local history through gravestones. The 1889 recipe, says NHPR's Rick Ganley, came from a community cookbook one of Moulton's subjects contributed to; she also combs through newspapers, old books, databases, and more. Her new book, The Beginner's Guide to Cemetery Sleuthing, is a how-to for anyone interested.With control of the NH House up for grabs, races to watch. This year's session ended with the GOP holding 197 seats to Democrats' 191 and 11 seats vacant. Several races offer chances to each party to flip seats, and in NH Bulletin, Ethan DeWitt runs through them. Around here, they include Sullivan 8, which Democratic incumbent Hope Damon won by just 0.1 percent; Sullivan 7, where Republican Margaret Drye won by 165 votes last time around; Grafton 18, which includes Canaan, Dorchester, Enfield, Grafton, and Orange, and is open after GOP Rep. John Sellers retired; he won by four votes in 2022.Voting in NH on Tuesday? Expect long lines. VT too, probably, but yesterday NH Secretary of State David Scanlan predicted record turnout in the Granite State: 824,000 voters. He also believes that a lot of people will register at the polls, since this is the first presidential election since a 2021 checklist verification struck voters from the rolls, and Scanlan thinks many of them will want to re-register, reports Claire Sullivan in NH Bulletin. For the last five presidential elections, NH has ranked among the top five states for turnout.Seems like a simple question: Should NH judges have to retire at 70 or 75? But it's not that simple. Voters will decide on Tuesday when they weigh in on the one constitutional amendment on the ballot, which would raise the mandatory retirement age first set in 1792. NHPR's Olivia Richardson checks in with legal experts and retired judges, including one who would gladly have stayed on past 70. Several argue that factors besides age should be in play. One intriguing point: If the measure passes, five current circuit judges appointed by Gov. Chris Sununu will be able to serve until 2060.Former VT Democratic state rep: “I am just coming to the conclusion that if I stay here after I retire, I am going to be bankrupt within five years." It's fair to say that rising state and property taxes are high on the list of Vermonters' concerns this election, and VT Public's Peter Hirschfeld talked to a few of them. A Plymouth store owner, a Windham County homeowner, that former state rep from Essex, a retired schoolteacher in Brownington, a Sharon resident: They're all feeling the strain. But the schoolteacher, at least, isn't sure candidates running on the issue have a fix. "They just have a slogan," he says.A look at the international pile-on-Burlington trend. It began, Seven Days publisher Paula Routly writes, with a "sensationalized stroll" through downtown by successful YouTuber Peter Santenello, whose take-down of the city two weeks ago has racked up nearly 2 million views. It's probably no coincidence that Fox News and then the Daily Mail followed with their own versions. But Routly notes that a key interviewee, Asah Lauren, asked to be removed from the original, feeling "clipped and manipulated." And to Santanello's charge that the media has failed to cover the city's travails, Routly responds with stories by journalists "who live here, do their research, [and] gather facts without bias."James, James, Mollison, Mollison... Sorry, A.A. Milne, couldn't help myself. James Mollison is a British photographer who once liked to hang out outside concerts and take photos of fans channeling their fave bands, then turn them into montages. He photographed fans at a Marilyn Manson concert, and Rod Stewart, and Madonna, and 50 Cent, and Katy Perry, and Merle Haggard, and a lot more. And dang if each band's "Disciples", as he called them in his exhibit, didn't share a look. And a mighty fun one, at that.
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We may be the middle of nowhere to everyone else in VT and NH, but
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know what's good! Strong Rabbit's Morgan Brophy has come up with the perfect design for "We Make Our Own Fun" t-shirts and tote bags for proud Upper Valleyites. Plus you'll find the Daybreak jigsaw puzzle, as well as sweatshirts, tees, a fleece hoodie, and, as always, the fits-every-hand-perfectly Daybreak mug. Check it all out at the link!
There's a public tour of the historic cemetery today starting at 4 pm. It'll last about an hour. Meet at the cemetery main entrance behind Class of '53 Commons.
. We'll let the Hood describe it: "Museum intern Kaitlyn Anderson ’24 brings together works whose origins range from Australia to Hawaiʻi to the west coast of the United States and Canada to explore possibilities for solidarity and empowerment rooted in community, continuity, and self-determination." 4 pm today.
Restaurants, shops, galleries, and more will be hopping as usual. But today at 4 pm, the Upper Valley Food Coop kicks off a monthly series of First Friday kickoffs with guided tours of WRJ sights. Today, it's a tree identification walk in Lyman Point Park led by the Hartford Tree Board—there's
boxelder, sycamore, a swamp oak, gingko, maple, crabapple, pear, and lots more. Meet in front of the Coop building (that would be the big red one on North Main St.)
It's a double singing evening with the now-veteran band led by Jakob Breitbach: Family Hour starts up at 5, with an invitation to bring the kids in costume to sing with the band while the library is open. Then at 7 pm, the evening continues for adults. Dinner available to buy at 5, bar opens at 6:30 pm.
Swanson directs the ceramics program at Dartmouth and Ernster is a full-time NH potter. The two, longtime friends and colleagues, have been working in clay for decades, and the exhibition includes sculpture and sculptural vessels using a variety of techniques including wood fire, saggar fire, terra sigillata, and gold lustre. Taylor Gallery, 5:30 pm.
Jennings, who grew up in Norwich, and Lippert, who lives in the Pioneer Valley, will play pieces composed by women: Lili Boulanger, contemporary American composer Jessie Montgomery, Swedish composer Amanda Maier, and others. 7:00 this evening at the Norwich Congregational Church. Jennings will lead a chamber music master class with UVMC students at 4:30, also at the church.
It's the "darkly delicious" story of Veronica Sawyer, a brainy teen misfit who joins the most powerful and ruthless clique at Westerberg High: the Heathers. Complications ensue. A "hilarious, heartfelt, and homicidal new show based on the greatest teen comedy of all time." Tonight and tomorrow at 7 pm, Sunday at 3 pm at the Lebanon Opera House.
The parade around the Green sets off tonight at 7:30, the bonfire gets set alight at 8:30. Link takes you to the weekend's schedule.
Saturday
Now's when blaze orange gets really important!
(rifle season starts Nov. 13). In VT,
; regular season for deer opens Nov. 16.
Mahoney, who runs Dartmouth's Rockefeller Center, will talk about how women have participated in politics in the past, what this tells us about the women participating today, how gender and race are at play in this year's election, and what to look for from women voters this fall. 10 am in the Loew Auditorium.
They'll be creating an altar to "beloved writers who have passed away," including Eric Carle, Anna Dewdney, Morgan Taylor, and Tomie dePaola. Participants will also make paper Mexican flowers and decorate sugar skulls to add to the altar. For all ages, though the library notes, "While the topics in this event will be approached carefully and sensitively...death and dying will be discussed." 10:30 am.
Vital Communities is marking the end of this year's e-bike lending library season with a costumed human-powered bike and e-bike ride. All ages and types of bikes and riders welcome. Food and celebration from 10:30-12:30, with a group ride at 11 that's fine for everyone.
The former
Valley News
reporter tells the story of how New Hampshire officials punished free speech during the Vietnam War after drivers who covered up the motto on the state's license plates were arrested and even sentenced to jail, kicking off a case that went to the US Supreme Court. Hosted by the Lebanon Historical Society at the Kilton Library tomorrow at 1 p.m.
. Wishik writes that "Spanish artists in Barcelona developed the term ‘poellage’ in 1916, to describe ‘the fusion of words and paper through the collage technique.’" Her exhibit combines memoir poems about early childhood and her middle years with collage. 2 pm.
. Dartmouth's Institute for Black Intellectual and Cultural life has been marking the legendary writer's life with a series of videos. Tomorrow at 5 pm, they cap things off with a talk by Haitian-American novelist Edwidge Danticat, a reading by actor Harry Lennix (NBC's
The Blacklist
), and a performance by the Eden Brooklyn Dance Theater. In-person in Dartmouth Hall 105, which has limited seating, so
.
With Jim Rooney emceeing, the Play It Forward band with Chris Rua, Thal Alyward, Bruce Sklar, Ted Mortimer, Glendon Ingalls, and guest singers Becky Bailey and Danae Carlson.
Plus
mystery writer and veteran radio personality Terry Boone with a new mystery story told by him and two other actors. All followed by a swing dance party. It all gets going at 7 pm tomorrow.
Oji-Cree singer-songwriter Aysanabee became the first
Indigenous Canadian to win the JUNO Awards (the Grammys are the US equivalent) for Alternative Album of the Year and Songwriter of the Year, for his 2023 EP
Here and Now
. He'll be singing and telling stories, with Ottawa-based Canadian Folk Music Award nominees Moonfruits opening. 7 pm tomorrow.
At the Main Street Museum, it's The Odd-Ball, with darkwave, electro, goth, industrial, EBM, and harsh dance coming out of the speakers. "Cyber/club/creative alt attire strongly suggested." And at the Briggs, it's the Fall Fashion Extravaganza hosted by Revolution and Nancy the Girl, with proceeds going to... the Main Street Museum. Both start at 8 pm tomorrow and go until late.
Sunday
Hosted by The Rough and Tumble, local singer-songwriters will convene at Alumni Hall in Haverhill at 4 pm Sunday to show off their songs and talents.
Yep, two days before the election: Redford and Hoffman as Woodward and Bernstein on the trail of Watergate. If you're curious about the film that launched a thousand journalism careers, this is a good chance: It's free and open to the public. 4 pm at the Loew.
After raising some $130,000 to replace the old star atop the Woodstock hill, Woodstock Rotary is holding a relighting ceremony in the Woodstock Inn front garden Sunday from 5-5:30 (don't forget that clocks turn back an hour Sunday morning). They'll light up the new steel star, which they say "should last us another 100 years!"
It's the first of a regular Sunday evening event throughout November: Grab something to drink and/or eat, choose a book, and settle down to read. Hosted by Michelle Ollie and Jarad Greene from The Center for Cartoon Studies. They write, "This is for both avid graphic novel readers and those new to the medium. We'll have many genre titles, including nonfiction, fiction, memoir, fantasy, etc." Mention the meet-up at the bar for 15 percent off. 5-7 pm.
And as we head into the weekend...
Here's Aysanabee (Saturday night at the Chandler in Randolph) with LA-based singer-songwriter Raye Zaragoza,
Have a fine, restorative weekend. 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.
The Enthusiasms Archives. A list of book recommendations by Daybreak's rotating crew of local booksellers, writers, and librarians who think you should read. this. book. now!
Daybreak Where You Are: The Album. Photos of daybreak around the Upper Valley, Vermont, New Hampshire, and the US, sent in by readers.
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