GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
A fine winter’s day. It’s continuing to snow in the northern mountains, but around here we’re looking at high pressure building in, gusty winds from the west into mid-afternoon, and highs reaching the mid or upper 20s (with wind chills in the teens). Back down to around 10 tonight.
One thing to keep an eye on. The Geminids peak tomorrow and Sunday nights, and though tomorrow night’s mostly cloudy, tonight and Sunday may be more forgiving. The moon will only be a slight factor, and there could be up to 150 shooting stars an hour.
Evening grosbeaks stop by. “Over the last few days I have had between 15 and 22 grosbeaks on my feeders,” writes Sheila Culbert from Meriden. “Last year we did not get any grosbeak visitors, so this is a treat.” Anytime, her photo’s stunning.
Did you catch Dear Daybreak yesterday? If not, you missed Janie Snowden’s painting of Musterfield Farm in N. Sutton; Liz Ryan Cole’s tale of picking up a hitchhiker in a snowstorm; Don McCabe’s photo of a scene at the Norwich Inn these days; and Jamie Vander Clute’s story about a cat named Spaghetti and why the first week of December will always be Spaghetti time. And Dear Daybreak could use good stories: If you’ve got something to share, please send it in.
Former Woodstock police chief placed on leave. Again. The Joe Swanson saga just keeps going. Three days after a judge reversed a decision by the Village trustees that led to Swanson’s demotion to patrol officer, Woodstock municipal manager Eric Duffy (who’s in the running for two manager jobs elsewhere) ordered him “to surrender his firearm(s), police identification, building keys, vehicle and badge until further notice,” reports Mike Donoghue in the Standard. Every official Donoghue contacted declined comment. Village trustees plan to hold a second demotion hearing sometime next year, but not before March, Donoghue reports.
Randolph gets a new farm-to-table bistro. And the Seasoned Skillet, which is going into the Main Street space recently vacated by Short Notice, will come with a pedigree: It’s being opened by Nora Rice, the Hartland-raised chef who, with her sister Jenna, recently published The Vermont Farm-to-Table Cookbook. “Her food blends the comfort of home with the creativity of international kitchens,” writes Mark Rosalbo on the Randolph Vibe blog. And adds, “Her father was spotted watering the plants in the windows, a small but telling sign that this venture is family-backed and community-minded.” Rice aims to open early next year.
As Hartford considers collaborating on Hotel Coolidge redevelopment, it eyes parking, infrastructure. The project proposed back in July by Coolidge block owner David Briggs and developer Adam Grounds would bring 95 apartments, a public plaza, and commercial space to the current site of the hotel and the shops it adjoins. Briggs and Grounds want a public-private partnership, which the town hasn’t committed to, but now, reports Clare Shanahan in the Valley News, it will use two grants to study infrastructure improvements, “including a public plaza, parking, and geothermal energy options.” Shanahan explains where things stand on the developers’ plans.
SPONSORED: Shop local and find the perfect gift for everyone at the Norwich Bookstore this holiday season! Whether you're putting the finishing touches on your list or just getting started, we've got you covered with our expertly curated selection of books and gifts, personalized recommendations, and complimentary gift wrapping. Open seven days a week in Norwich, and always online at norwichbookstore.com! Sponsored by the Norwich Bookstore.
Big Potato, Pattie, and the other spuds set off to find Spud. Puppeteer Ria Blaas may call her show “a bunch of balls hopping around,” but as Marion Umpleby writes in the VN, the stars of Blaas’s show this weekend at Norwich’s Beaver Meadow Chapel “are far more complex—carbohydrates aside—than their real-life counterparts.” They’re tubers with “fears, hopes, desires.” And while they’re off on an adventure that would appeal to kids, Blaas says that in the grand tradition of European puppetry, “Pattie Peels Out” is just as much for adults. Today and tomorrow at 4 pm, and Blaas and fellow puppeteer Glynnis Gold recommend bundling up and getting there early.
“It’s not about playing the music, it’s getting the audience engaged in what you’re doing.” That’s Jim Yeager, who plays pretty much everywhere in the Upper Valley—both solo and as part of the bands the Magic Box Trio and the Funky Flats—talking to Dave Hoffenberg in Mountain Times about how, when someone shouts at a song for him to play, “I’ve been known to try it many times, even if I don’t know it. That’s the fun part, creating a fun vibe.” Hoffenberg profiles the hard-working Yeager, who describes what he looks for in a venue owner, how he writes songs, and how on earth he’s managed to keep doing this for 34 years. Two words: the connections.
SPONSORED: The Upper Valley Trails Alliance Calendar is back! UVTA and photographer Jay Davis (whose photos appear regularly in Daybreak) are back with the 2026 Upper Valley Vistas Calendar featuring stunning vistas of the Upper Valley. All proceeds support trail maintenance across the region, the High School Trail Corps program that develops young trail stewards and leaders, and programs that connect our community to the outdoors. This is a gift that gives back. Order yours at the burgundy link or here. Sponsored by the Upper Valley Trails Alliance.
Dartmouth researchers fit one more piece into the puzzle of how cells die. In some cell deaths, mitochondria (cell power plants) release substances that cause the cell to self-destruct. Scientists have long known that proteins create pores in a mitochondrion’s outer membrane to let these chemicals out. Now, postdoc Sukrut Kamerkar and Geisel prof Henry Higgs have shown that a protein called LACTB helps loosen and reshape a mitochondrion’s inner membrane, helping those chemicals escape. As Dartmouth News’ Harini Barath explains, manipulating LACTB could help treat certain cancers, in which cells refuse to die, or neurodegenerative disorders, in which they die too quickly.
Going to build snow creatures or forts this weekend? Demo wants your photos. Every year around this time, Demo Sofronas puts together a photo essay on his About Norwich substack, and he’s looking for submissions from people around the Upper Valley of their snow sculptures, “sno-buddies,” and snow forts. Contact info, past photo essays, and creative use of cabbages, carrots, and pretzel rods at the link.
This Week in the Woods: flashes of yellow and the makings of a purple dye. The sunny color, writes Northern Woodlands’ Jack Saul this second week of December, comes in the form of evening grosbeaks, which were spotted in West Fairlee. The birds moved east in the 1900s, possibly drawn to the newly planted boxelders and bird feeders. But now populations are in steep decline. “Conservationists continue to try to understand this freefall,” Saul writes, but suspect the suppression of spruce budworm, collisions, cats, and the climate all factor in. And the purple dye? That comes from ground-up, fermented rock tripe, a lichen that grows on cliffs and boulders.
“It pays for an oak to lure a bluejay.” That’s because jays can hold five acorns at once, and they’ll fly up to a mile away from the parent oak, planting each one here and there, just under the leaf litter: “the perfect depth for germination,” writes Ted Levin in yesterday’s “Another Morning in Paradise” blog entry. A single jay can account for 5,000 acorns over the course of the fall, which is why, after the Ice Age, jays “facilitated spread of oaks into the Northern Hemisphere faster than any other tree species (even those with wind-blown seeds like spruce and fir and birch).”
Hiking Close to Home: the Hazen Trail, Norwich & Wilder. The Hazen Trail offers a 2-mile point-to-point (or 4-mile out-and-back) walk along a forested ridge that follows the Connecticut River between Norwich and Wilder. The trail has some gentle ups and downs as it winds through the woods with occasional views above the river. You can access the trail from either end—the Wilder trailhead off Route 5, or from Montshire Road in Norwich (parking for 3-4 cars). Note: If you use the Montshire Road parking area to access museum trails, museum admission is required.
Daybreak’s Upper Valley News Quiz. Were you paying attention this week? Because we’ve got questions. Like, what’s that popup video store at JAM called? And what’s the middle name of AVA Gallery’s new executive director? (Hint: it’s the same as a well-known camera brand.) Meanwhile, you’ll find both NHPR’s New Hampshire quiz and Seven Days’ Vermont quiz at this link.
After story comes out about NH legislature’s EFA oversight committee not meeting for a year, it schedules a meeting. Remember Ethan DeWitt’s piece in NH Bulletin earlier this week about how the committee charged with overseeing how Education Freedom Accounts are being administered hasn’t met since November of last year? Well, now they’re going to meet next week, he reports. Sen. Ruth Ward, the Stoddard Republican who chairs the committee, said last week that scheduling conflicts with its House members had gotten in the way. The committee missed a legal Nov. 30 deadline for issuing a report on its findings about how EFAs are going.
NH governor’s Commission on Government Efficiency issues report. The document from former Gov. Craig Benson and businessman Andy Crews “includes dozens of suggestions on how to make government more efficient and effective,” reports NHPR’s Josh Rogers. Including breaking up DHHS, consolidating school districts, reviewing UNH’s administrative structure, rescinding outdated state regs, and tracking interactions with the public through Customer Relation Management systems. It also wants to raise the threshold for contracts to go to the Exec Council for review—a proposal that’s getting pushback from… the Exec Council. Rogers sketches the issues.
Want some hard numbers on how the drop in Canadian tourism has affected NH and VT? They’re available in a new report from Democrats (so it’s hardly non-partisan) on the US Senate’s Joint Economic Committee—who happen to be led by NH’s Maggie Hassan. As the Union Leader’s Kevin Landrigan reports (possible paywall), NH’s 30 percent decline “is the biggest drop in the nation” among the northern border states from ME to AK. Coming in second: VT, at 28 percent. The report also found an estimated 75-80 percent drop in Canadian visitors to Laconia’s Motorcycle Week and a 49 percent drop in Canadian credit card spending in VT. Full report here.
N. Haverhill, NH native inducted into Vermont Motorsports Hall of Fame. Eight men and one woman form the Hall’s inaugural class, and were honored last weekend at a ceremony in Milton. The hall of fame “recognizes all motorsports, including drag racing, snowmobile and go-kart racing, and tractor pulling,” reports VT Public’s Howard Weiss-Tisman, and among its freshman class is C.V. “Chuck” Elms II, who helped build stock car racing in VT first as an official at Bradford’s Bear Ridge Speedway, then as its owner for 27 years. Also inducted: 84-year-old Gardner Stone, who won five national tractor pulling championships during his career. Class bios here.
“I’ve seen plenty of aurora shows in my life, but nothing like this.” Fortunately for the rest of us, Vincent Beudez not only saw the Northern Lights in Tromso, Norway, but photographed them. His image is one of 25 winners of the Northern Lights Photographer of the Year contest. Capturing these breathtaking images takes skill and a lot of patience. Tori Harp visited a glacier in New Zealand over eight months, monitoring the changes until an opening formed to an ice cave and, magically one night, “the Aurora Australis also lit up the sky.” But there’s so much more. You’ll find the full portfolio in Capture the Atlas at the link.
2,397. There were that many golden retrievers and at least that many people in Buenos Aires’ Palermo Woods earlier this week, gathered for a new world record. The record’s unofficial, but heck, what really matters is the video. This is the AP’s.
Today's Wordbreak. With a word from yesterday’s Daybreak. Just use the same link tomorrow and Sunday for new words from publications around the region.
Daybreak doesn't get to exist without your support. Help it stick around by hitting the maroon button:
THERE'S SOME GREAT DAYBREAK SWAG! Like Daybreak tote bags, sweatshirts, head-warming beanies, t-shirts, long-sleeved tees, the Daybreak jigsaw, those perfect hand-fitting coffee/tea mugs, and as always, "We Make Our Own Fun" t-shirts and tote bags for proud Upper Valleyites. Check it all out at the link!
HEADS UP
The weekend’s packed, from Woodstock's Wassail Weekend to the Howe's Jane Austen Ball (with dressing-up tips) to the Mallett Brothers at Court Street Arts to the United Church of Strafford’s Noel concert with Annemieke and Jeremiah McLane and friends. And that's just a small taste of today! Check out the entire weekend at the link.
And to take us into said weekend…
In Georgian, “gelino” means “bride.” It’s also the name of a traditional song from the region of Georgia that borders Turkey—and of a beautiful, haunting track on the new album by the Bay Area women’s folk ensemble Kitka. Their version just went up on YouTube joined to a film by the British folk singer and artist Marry Waterson. Listen with the video playing or sit back and close your eyes; it’ll carry you off either way.
Thanks, KrH!
See you Monday for CoffeeBreak.
Looking for all of the hikes, Enthusiasms, daybreak photos, or music that Daybreak has published over the years? Go here!
And always, if you’re not a subscriber yet:
Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Poetry editor: Michael Lipson Associate Editor: Jonea Gurwitt About Rob About Michael
And if you think one or more of your friends would like Daybreak, too, please forward this newsletter and tell them to visit daybreak.news to sign up.
Thank you!
