GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
More clouds than sun, slight chance of showers late in the day. That second trough of low pressure's reached us, but the real rain remains to the south. Highs today upper 50s, maybe 60—and interestingly, with the north warmer than the south. Clouds persist tonight, lows in the lower 40s.Foxes, two ways.
A striking still of an adult on the hunt in a riparian buffer area in Lyme.
And a video of fox cubs Ann Little noticed on a bike ride through Thetford. She apologizes for her "ranting" in the background.
A setback for proposed Peace Field restaurant. The long-running saga of the bid by developer John Holland and farmer/restaurateur Matt Lombard to create an on-farm restaurant just got longer, reports Tom Ayres in the VT Standard. Last month, a state environmental court ruled that the proposed footprint exceeds what's allowed by a Woodstock zoning bylaw, and that the town was wrong to grant its approval. Holland and Lombard can submit a revised application, though Holland suggests it would be easier if the selectboard just changes "footprint" in its statute to "interior usable area."
Janice Lyman, her family, and hundreds of volunteers spent two weeks searching for Halo, the Lymans' two-year-old husky, after she disappeared in late April. This week, Lyman learned Halo had been killed by a neighbor the day she wandered off; he says the dog had killed two of his roosters—but didn't mention shooting Halo when Lyman asked him if he'd seen her. In the
Herald
, Darren Marcy charts the aftermath: building social media outrage, Lyman's anger, the neighbor's anger, competing statutes, and an investigation by game wardens.
The USPS's reorganization plan, which will send outgoing mail in the region to Hartford, CT—rather than to its WRJ facility—will go ahead, the
Valley News
's Patrick Adrian reports. That's based on a USPS facilities study released this week. Though the plan calls for adding package shipping services in WRJ, it could wind up eliminating up to 23 positions—though it won't result in layoffs of full-time employees, a USPS spokesperson tells Adrian.
SPONSORED: Visit Crossroad Farm to pick out that perfect hanging basket for Mother's Day—or just get dinner on the table. Whether you're looking for a Mother's Day gift, craving a local salad, or ready to pick up plants for your garden, Crossroad Farm has you covered! They have a stunning array of hanging baskets and herb pots, along with annual flowers, veggies and herb starts that are ready to be planted. Their Norwich farm stand is stocked with local meat, cheese, eggs, fresh baked goods, and more. Open every day from 10 am-6 pm in Post Mills and Norwich. Sponsored by Crossroad Farm.VT Principals Assn. rejects Mid Vermont Christian School's request on participation. As you probably remember, the VPA, which oversees school sports in Vermont, expelled MVCS last year after it forfeited a game rather than play a school with a transgender player. MVCS and two parents sued—but also, last month, asked that its students be allowed to participate in coed, non-athletic events, like science and math fairs, spelling and geography bees, and the like. However, reports Mike Donoghue in the Standard, the VPA isn't budging. MVCS has now asked a federal judge for an injunction.For arrested student protesters, what's next? In The Dartmouth, Kent Friel walks through where things are headed for the 63 students who could still face criminal charges and college disciplinary action stemming from the May 1 demonstration. Students banned from the Green are worried about their ability to participate in the Dartmouth Powwow tomorrow and commencement on June 9—though they can apply to prosecutors for exceptions to their bail conditions. At least one student, Friel reports, is hoping for a "mass drop of charges"; if that doesn't happen, court dates could be set for fall. The college is also reviewing cases to determine any violations of its code of conduct.Becoming "literate" about water. As you may know, Lyme's Catherine Greenleaf, a wildlife rehabilitator and former gardening columnist for the Boston Herald, puts out a podcast called Bird Hugger. With water and drought a constant preoccupation these days, this week she talks to VT writer Judith Schwartz, who argues that impervious surfaces like asphalt and town infrastructures like sewers speed rainwater into rivers and streams, contributing to storms—and that homeowners can trap and slow down water on their properties and improve the health of the regional water system."The world of Baroque music, played on original instruments on a very high level, is kind of a small circle." So writes Bob Eddy in the Herald, explaining why musicians are coming from all over the country for next weekend's Upper Valley Baroque performances of JS Bach's St. John Passion at LOH (5/18) and the Chandler (5/19). “We call it a passion, but it really is an oratorio; full of colors, extremely intense and dramatic," conductor Filippo Ciabatti tells him, as the two talk over the work itself and what it takes to perform it: rehearsals in multiple venues and taking the time "to make it yours.”Leb High School athlete finally feeling like herself after crash last fall. "I used to wonder how people fell asleep at the wheel, but it happened so quick.” Maddie Jewell, who plays soccer, basketball, and lacrosse at LHS, was close to home in Plainfield last November when she dozed off on Stage Road. Her car rolled and she broke her collarbone and suffered internal bleeding and lacerations. “I’m surprised the entire town didn’t hear me crying," her mom tells the VN's Tris Wykes. Wykes recounts what happened, Maddie's recovery—and why teen drivers need to pay attention to their bodies.Hiking Close to Home: White River Ledges Natural Area, Pomfret, VT. The UVTA's suggestion this week is a 1.6-mile loop trail on a hill above the White River. It takes you through rich northern hardwoods, a young white pine and hemlock forest, and an old sheep pasture, with views of the nearby hills. Directions are at the link, but note that once you park at the pull-off on White River Lane, you might not be able to see the trailhead sign—just walk back to Pomfret Road and look up at the hill for the preserve sign.Been paying attention to Daybreak? Because Daybreak's Upper Valley News Quiz has some questions for you. Like, how much can an eagle's nest weigh? And which Upper Valley musician once created a parody tribute album to Bob Dylan in which every song mentioned hot dogs? Those and other questions at the link.But wait! How closely were you following VT and NH?
Because Seven Days wants to know if you know what Vermonter Chip Piper aims to do in ten days, partly as a way of working through grief.
And NHPR's got a whole set of questions about doings around the Granite State—like, which longtime NH politician and state Senate president has announced their retirement?
When it comes to tax burden, the difference between VT and NH is wider than just a river. Using data on property taxes, income taxes, and sales & excise tax, Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu has pulled together a handy state-by-state map of the percentage of an average person’s income going toward state and local taxes each year. Vermont has the third-highest tax burden in the country, at 11.1 percent, behind only New York and Hawaii. New Hampshire, by contrast, has the second lowest (it comes just before Alaska), with 5.6 percent.“I don't think at the end of this process that we are going to have resolved what happened in 1694.” Durham, NH, has been wrestling with how to reword an old historical marker that described the “Oyster River Massacre” of more than three centuries ago from the colonialists' perspective. A commission was formed to come up with new wording, but discussions were so contentious that mediators were brought in. NHPR's Julia Furukawa looks into the challenges of presenting all sides fairly in a few dozen words "while also touching on issues of Indigenous identity, historical memory and the legacy of colonialism.”“If you contributed to a mess, you should play a role in cleaning it up." That's Norwich's Elena Mihaly, VP of the Conservation Law Foundation’s Vermont chapter, explaining to The Guardian's Dharna Noor why her group and others have pressed for a bill forcing fossil fuel companies to pay for damage to the state caused by climate change. The measure has twice passed the House and sailed through the Senate in a preliminary vote. If it makes it out of the legislature, it would make VT the first state to take such a step—and earn an almost certain veto from Gov. Phil Scott. That's when things will get interesting.Lambs make history: "I’m not sure when something happened in Glover for the first time in the Western Hemisphere." You may remember that back in December, Mark Rodgers of MKVT Farm in Glover became the first farmer on this side of the planet to have Dutch Spotted Sheep embryos implanted in his herd's ewes. The first lamb arrived Sunday. “Very stressful!” he tells WCAX's Sophia Thomas. “I didn’t sleep much.” In all, there are now seven of them, delivered with the help of Rodgers' nine-year-old granddaughter, Addie. Once grown, the sheep will go to farms around VT and beyond.It’s 10 pm. Do you know where your cheddar is? Perrystead Dairy, in Philly, understands that sometimes you need your artisanal cheese now. The urban dairy has no room for a retail shop, but a vending machine? Brilliant! In the pollinator garden, a temperature-controlled booth, writes Regan Stephens in Travel + Leisure, houses a self-service, 24-hour machine stocked with Perrystead’s cheeses as well as charcuterie, crackers, and even boards for serving it all with style. Owner Yoav Perry got the idea on visits to Europe. Whaddaya think? An addition to the late-night Upper Valley dining scene?The seasons. In 12 seconds. Local cartoonist and Center for Cartoon Studies teacher Dan Nott, who just won a Vermont Book Award, likes to play around with visuals on the side. So he created this loop of the river and its surroundings through the year, using 93 drawings made with pen and marker. Bet you can't watch for just one go-round.News Clues Day 2. The idea is pretty simple: The AI prompter gives you five chances to guess the item it's picked out in a local or regional news photograph, with the clues growing easier each time. The puzzle is still in beta stage, so this is your last chance at it for the moment. NewsGames' Kevin McCurdy is interested in feedback: Did you find any bugs (and if so, what)? And what do you think of the puzzle (and why)? Email [email protected]. If you're writing to tell him you don't see an image, please include a screenshot of what you do see, as well as the browser and device you're using.
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Remember Bea Burack's series in Daybreak about the impact of climate change on alpine, nordic, and backcountry skiing in the Granite State? She also created an exhibit at Dartmouth's Baker Library, and today at 3:30 Bea will give a talk and then lead a tour, diving into what warming winters mean for NH's culture, economy, and environment. In Baker's East Reading Room.
Well, actually, local best-selling author Ben Mezrich, who'll be at Cover to COVER Books in WRJ at 5 pm today for a talk on his newest book,
Breaking Twitter: Elon Musk and the Most Controversial Corporate Takeover in History. It'll be a chance to hear both about Twitter and about Mezrich's adventures researching the book.Ringing Around the World. Handbell ringing, that is, with the Upper Valley Ringers at the Enfield Shaker Museum's Chosen Vale Performance Center. Their spring concert will bring both familiar and unfamiliar songs from cultures all over. Performance starts at 7 pm, doors open at 6.Anthropologist Eric Cline and cartoonist Glynnis Fawkes talk 1177 B.C. At 7 this evening, Cline,
who teaches classics and anthropology at George Washington University
, and Fawkes, who teaches at the Center for Cartoon Studies, will be at Still North Books & Bar in Hanover to talk about their joint illustrated project on the collapse of
the ancient civilizations of the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean 3000 years ago, bringing the Late Bronze Age to an end
The Friends of the Dunbar Library host staff from
MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH, the Norwich Bookstore, and Still North Books & Bar for a conversation about the ways in which locally owned bookstores often enmesh themselves in community life—and work with libraries to enrich it.
On the lower level of Grantham Town Hall,
300 NH Route 10.
Hop Film screens the hand-drawn feature
They Shot the Piano Player
, which tells the real-life story of Francisco Tenorio Júnior, who vanished in 1976 while visiting Argentina, and of a fictional
New Yorker
writer (Goldblum) and his researches into Tenorio's life, impact on Brazil's bossa nova scene, and disappearance. At the Loew.
At 7:30 pm, the coffeehouse once again takes over the First Congregational Church of Lebanon, with all sorts of good food in the back and, in the front, Brooklyn-based indie singer-songwriter Effy Marella; Kyoto-based fingerstyle guitarist Hiroya Tsukamoto, who's studying at the Berklee School of Music; and the Hot Skillet Club, a trio that plays vintage jazz with "a western swing attitude."
Saturday
The event's organized by Martin Decato and Peter Dionne and will feature Decato along with Tommy Crawford, James Graham, Leeanne Morin, Jim Fortmuller, Austin Martel, Rick Clogston and Rob LeBlanc. Two sessions: 10 am to 2 pm, and then again from 6 pm to 10 pm. It's basically built for "a community of musicians and listeners,"
Presentations on raptor and insect migration, a tour of the songbird aviary, and photographers Bob Fleck (talking about New England bogs) and Ian Clark (on loons).
The Andean folk ensemble, from Bolivia and Peru, have been here for a weeklong residency with BarnArts. The concert's their culminating event—song, dance, and food trucks by The Melted Cheesiere, Moon & Stars, and Kiss the Cow.
Music by the VT-based contra band Frost and Fire (
Aaron Marcus, piano, concertina, foot percussion; Hollis Easter, flute, bagpipes, whistle, guitar, mandolin; Peter Macfarlane, fiddle, low whistle; and Viveka Fox fiddle, bodhran, djembe). Calling by Robin Russell.Also at 8 pm tomorrow, the Dartmouth Wind Ensemble gives its first Hop concert since 2022. With Brian Messier and an array of guest conductors, the ensemble will perform works by Giovanni Gabrieli, Kathryn Salfelder, Natalia Quintanilla, John Phillip Sousa, and others. In Rollins Chapel.And also at 8 pm, Sawtooth Kitchen in Hanover presents Andrew North and the Rangers. The Concord-based jam band plays "
upbeat piano and sax-forward original music," Sawtooth writes, "in a style that’s kind of like 'Ben Folds meets Phish'."
Sunday
At 2 pm Sunday, the North Universalist Chapel in Woodstock presents the brother/sister cello duo of Sam and Carol Ou. The two, who've performed both individually and together all over the world and currently teach at the New England Conservatory in Boston, will perform works for two cellos by Boccherini, Jean-Baptiste Barrière, David Popper, and José Elizondo.
Let's go out on a quiet note.
Here's Hiroya Tsukamoto, who's playing tonight at the Anonymous Coffeehouse,
Have a lovely weekend whatever the weather. 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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