GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Partly sunny, warmer, maybe showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. It's getting more humid out there, and with a front coming through later today, there's a chance of showers and slight chance of thunderstorms all afternoon and evening. Some patches of fog first thing, winds from the south, temps reaching the upper 70s or low 80s, mix of clouds and sun. Some drier air overnight, but rain moving back in tomorrow.Curiosity: a trail cam compilation from Erin Donahue. "Living things have meaning in terms of what they do," writes Ted Levin. "I've watched and studied animal behavior (formerly and formally photographing it) for much of my life. I've learned that animals are unquestionably fascinating—their appearances and relationships within their community—molded over millions of years by the fickle finger of evolution. Animals are beautiful, intelligent (in ways we don't yet understand), resourceful, and curious. Nothing in their immediate neighborhood escapes notice—not even Erin's trail cam, eventually mauled by a coyote."A heads up for Monday: Southbound on-ramp from Miracle Mile to be closed temporarily. The Exit 19 ramp onto I-89 southbound will close from about 9 am to noon to allow for inspection of the bridge over the Mascoma River. Timing is weather-dependent and the closure will last until the inspection's done.Did you check out "Dear Daybreak" yesterday? If not, you missed Krista Karlson's uplifting roadside encounter in Chelsea and Kira Parrish-Penny's with deeply absorbing meditation on spring and patience and hope—and the people around us. Got a good story or anecdote about life in these parts? Dear Daybreak needs them. Here's where to send it in!The Four Aces has new owners. Leann Briggs, the longtime owner (with her brother, Steven Shorey, who died last year) of the old West Leb icon, had it up for sale for the past three years and now, reports Marion Umpleby in the Valley News, she's found buyers: Doug and Stephanie Allard of Lebanon, who also own The Fort on Heater Road. The Allards declined to comment, but Briggs says, "I don’t anticipate much is going to change. They plan on using everything that is in place right now … They might extend the hours a little bit, they might open Wednesdays.” The Allards closed on it April 30.Judge agrees to Woodstock Foundation settlement. With his signature but no comment, Judge H. Dickson Corbett appears to have ended "the monumental legal battle that has mesmerized the Woodstock area for the past two and a half years," Mike Donoghue writes in the Standard. The terms, he reports, include paying $750,000 toward legal expenses incurred by the plaintiffs, former board chair Ellen Pomeroy and vice chair Sal Iannuzzi, replacing some board trustees, and a gag order on all concerned. He recaps the case and its roots, in case you need catching up.SPONSORED: Iris Apfel, Elton John, and Prue Leith would shop here! Artisan Eyewear in Norwich is a carefully curated "hidden gem" full of bold, fun, unique frames. Brands include Theo, Swissflex, Nina Mûr and Faniel. You'll find it at 309 Main Street in Norwich, next door to Dan & Whit's. No eye exams, but optician-owner Natalie Taylor provides concierge frame styling with an artist's eye. Artisan Eyewear is holding a Buy Two, 3rd is Free Sale the first week of June (3-7th), details at the burgundy link. And subscribe to their monthly Substack newsletter here. Sponsored by Artisan Eyewear."The vision I'd always had [of dowsing] was an old man holding a forked witch hazel stick pacing back and forth in his field..." But that's not what Daybreak audio journalist Frances Mize found when she visited Lisa McCrory at Earthwise Farm in Bethel. McCrory's a farmer, ski instructor, potter, and dowser, and they talk over what that last is about: how McCrory does it, whether she's ever had doubts, where it comes from, how many rows of zinnias to plant. "We are connecting to a source of information that is readily accessible to us," McCrory says. "There's no explanation for where that's coming from."Three White River Valley dairy farmers talk federal policy and its impact on their businesses. The on-the-ground results of tariffs, immigration policy, and grant cuts are pretty mixed, reports Maryellen Apelquist in The Herald. At Silloway Farms in Randolph Center, John Silloway says things have held steady so far. But that's not the case at Kiss the Cow Farm in E. Barnard, where Lisa and Randy Robar are grappling with frozen grants that would have made a difference to their bottom line, and with price increases. And like Amy Huyffer and Earl Ransom at Strafford's Rockbottom Farm, they're intently watching the price of glass milk bottles, which they buy from Canada.SPONSORED: How many people can make music in 30 hours? Come sing, play, or cheer in a free festival on Saturday and Sunday! Rain or shine, join us for Sing & Play 30 for 30 in downtown Lebanon for 30 hours of music-making, including jam sessions, performances, and the Big SING! Play your instrument, sing, or cheer on the music makers as an audience member, and show how much music matters to our community. AND just by signing up, you can help earn challenge gifts of $5,000+! Full schedule and sign up at the burgundy link or here. Sponsored by Upper Valley Music Center. Arrest in Bradford VT missing person case. You may remember the case of Corey Crooker, who disappeared in January. At first it wasn't considered suspicious, but new evidence led police to search a Bradford home in February, arresting James Nickles Jr. on federal gun charges. Now, reports WCAX, court paperwork says that Nickles "admitted to killing a person looking for drugs," though he hasn't been charged. Yesterday, however, the VT State Police announced that they've arrested Lisa Akey of Bradford on charges including being an accessory after the fact. The case is still under investigation.From light to lumps: At Dartmouth, a theory about a hypothetical. The latter is dark matter, which hasn't been proven but is thought to exist "based on observed gravitational effects that cannot be explained by visible matter," writes Dartmouth News' Morgan Kelly. The question is, how did near-massless particles go from being like light to being the "cold lumps that give galaxies their mass," in the words of physics and astronomy prof Robert Caldwell. Together with senior Guanming Liang, he's got a new study proposing that rapidly moving particles bonded and lost energy, like steam turning to water.Biking Close to Home: Sayward Town Forest, Randolph, VT. Now that the trails have started to dry out, says the Upper Valley Trails Alliance, this nearly 3-mile network offers a variety of rake-and-ride singletrack loops. Unlike machine-built trails, the trails feel rugged as they wind up and down the ridge. You can connect to the Randolph Trail network by continuing on Tatro Hill Road past the parking area and then turning right on Zeebee's. Parking is available in a lot at 1467 Tatro Hill in Randolph. To get there from town, head south on VT-12 then turn right on Tatro Hill Road. The parking area will be on the left. Been paying attention to Daybreak? Because this week's Upper Valley News Quiz has some questions. Like, what's the name of the new vegan place on the Lebanon Mall? And which Upper Valley town just had no fewer than five sites added to NH's register of historic places? Those and more at the link.But wait! How closely were you following VT and NH?
Because Seven Days wants to know if you know which particular state regulations Gov. Phil Scott rolled back this week.
And NHPR's got a whole set of questions about doings around the Granite State—like, how many undocumented students are enrolled in state public colleges?
Speaking of trail cams... (Remember up top?) The Jackson, NH Police Department on Wednesday got a report that one had been stolen. Fortunately, the cam was recovered, and it nailed the suspect: a bear. The department posted the footage to its Facebook page. Cue the bearly tolerable puns.New DNA evidence may provide insight into 1988 NH killing. The murder of Sharon Johnson in Bedford drew huge attention at the time and was the subject of the second season of NHPR's Bear Brook podcast. For more than 30 years, Jason Carroll has been behind bars for it, convicted of carrying out a murder-for-hire at the behest of Johnson's husband—whose charges were dropped in 1991 for lack of evidence. Carroll has always maintained his innocence and now, reports NHPR's Jason Moon, a forensic lab has found DNA evidence that could resolve the question—or not. He explains.NH Senate sends anti-sanctuary city bills to governor, breaks with House on others. The anti-sanctuary bills, reports NH Bulletin's Ethan DeWitt, require municipalities to comply with ICE "detainers" when it's safe to do so, prohibit them from adopting policies not to cooperate with federal authorities, and block state and local governments from "prohibiting law enforcement entities from entering into voluntary agreements with ICE." The Senate rejected bills making it tougher for non-US citizens to get drivers licenses and ending annual vehicle safety inspections.A "marquee" housing-policy fix gets tangled up in the VT legislature. The bill is aimed at spurring housing by letting developers or municipalities borrow money for project's basic infrastructure then use the increased tax revenues to pay off the loan. But in a House committee, reports Carly Berlin for VT Public, skeptics imposed restrictions that make it "much too complicated for anyone to understand,” said Gov. Phil Scott Wednesday. A backer in the Senate agrees: "They have put maybe so many guardrails in place that it keeps people out of being able to participate," says Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale.“The second most interesting thing I learned: there's no zoning in a Montezuma oropendola colony.” Ted Levin is just back from a trip to Costa Rica, and has a rundown in his newsletter. He distills 16 days of sightings and discoveries into pithy categories: most charismatic frog, cutest lizard, sex in a puddle … Photos (with stunners from Levin, Jim Block, and Gil Calvo) let us see the vibrancy, though not all 320 species of birds. Among them, four brown noddies (exhausted), quetzals feeding a chick, and a sungrebe. Note Jim Block’s technicolor Great Green Macaw, with the soft flow of a watercolor. The Friday Wordbreak. With a word from yesterday's Daybreak. And if you find yourself missing Wordbreak over the weekend, you just have to hit this link and you'll find brand new words tomorrow and Sunday—though not necessarily from Daybreak.
Daybreak doesn't get to exist without your support. Help it stick around by hitting the maroon button:
Like Daybreak tote bags, thanks to a helpful reader's suggestion. Plus, of course, 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!
The Saturday Norwich market opened at the beginning of May, Lebanon's Thursday afternoon/evening market started up last night, Canaan's market opens for the season on Sunday, Chelsea's opens
next
Friday, and others follow in upcoming weeks. At the link above, Vital Communities' page with info on each of the Upper Valley's markets: Just click on the market name to get dates, location, etc.
The three-day gathering of authors, poets, used-book-buyers, and book aficionados starts up at noon with an Artistree workshop on making folding books. Over the course of the festival, you'll have a chance to see Marjan Kamali, former poet laureate Robert Pinsky, Major Jackson, Alison Espach,
two
writers on national parks (Kevin Fedarko and Steve Kemp), and lots more. Schedule, info on parking, food, tickets and more at the link. Also, they have tents set up, so even if it rains, "you’ll still be able to peruse the book sale, our many exhibitors of books, handicrafts, and your kids won’t get wet if they’re engrossed in our activities for children."
The 2025 Experimental Balloon & Airship Association Meet gets going today at the Post Mills Airport.
The gathering of experimental, homebuilt, and ultralight aircraft enthusiasts was begun by the great balloonist Brian Boland and has carried on since his death. People will arrive today and, weather permitting, launch this evening, but the main events are tomorrow and Sunday, when the first edition of the World Hot Air Airship Championships of Post Mills will test pilots' maneuvering skills over two days, and the pilots of non-motorized aircraft will compete in the Boland Challenge, "a scavenger hunt style competition that will test pilots' creativity and propensity for fun" over four flights.
"Unsquare Dances" features 11 dance pieces set to Brubeck, Ravel, Kate Bush, Vince Guaraldi, and others. Choreographed by students, ensemble director John Heginbotham, and alum Jessica Volan Trout-Haney. 5:30 pm at the Irving Institute both today and tomorrow.
The singer, composer, and storyteller from southern Indiana by way of NYC takes the Sawtooth stage from 6-8:30. Then DJ Ahn-Ton spins house, jungle, breakbeat, hyperpop, and trance for a dance party from 9:30 to past midnight.
Director Bernard MacMahon and co-writer Allison McGourty go way back in time for this new documentary, featuring plenty of footage of the bands early days and interviews with Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones. 7 pm in the Loew Auditorium.
What began as a jam around a table in a Cambridge, MA music bar has evolved into a "touring collective" with a bunch of albums and festival appearances. And visits to the stage at Haverhill's Alumni Hall. 7:30 tonight.
Saturday
Ted Levin and Tom Sherry will lead the walk in search of migratory visitors, starting at 5:30 am, when the dawn chorus is underway. Meet at the trailhead parking area on Reservoir Road, directions at the link. Bring binoculars.
UVLT'
s Alexander van Engelen and VT Center for Ecostudies' Megan Massa
lead this one-mile walk. Starts at 7:30 am at the wetland off Houghton Hill Road. You'll need to register.
at 9:30 am.
As you saw above: Recitals, classes, jams of all sorts, singalongs,
("If I Had a Hammer", "What a Wonderful World" and more, no rehearsal necessary) and a family dance in Colburn Park at 5 pm (the First Congregational Church parish hall if it's raining), plus a Bach marathon and more Sunday. All the details at the first link.
The Met Opera's performance in HD is conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the company's first production of of "Strauss's white-hot one-act tragedy" in a couple of decades. Soprano Elza van den Heever in the title role. 1 pm tomorrow at the Loew.
. Seybolt, who lives in the Burlington area, is just out with her first novel,
Coram House
, which moves back and forth in time as a disgraced true crime writer digs into the sordid past of a former orphanage modeled on Burlington's St. Joseph's Catholic Orphanage. Berry lives in the Upper Valley and is the author of
Under the Harrow
,
Northern Spy
, and, most recently,
Trust Her
. 2 pm.
The father-daughter painting pair work on stoneware and canvas. Opening reception 3-5 pm tomorrow, runs to July 6.
Jakob Breitbach and Kit Creeger bring their string-band swing-band fiddle and guitar ("in the style of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli")—plus pretty much every other jumping style you can name—starting at 5:30 pm tomorrow.
If you follow Celtic music in North America, her name's familiar: She's the eldest daughter of Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy and, after touring for years with the family, is striking out on her own. She's a quadruple threat:
fiddler, pianist, dancer, and composer. She'll be joined onstage by a special guest: her mom. 7 pm tomorrow.
The CT-based jam-band trio blends rock, funk, blues, and jazz with deep psychedelia and "hard-hitting, no-rules improvisation..." 9 pm.
Sunday
That's the NH/VT border. The annual event starts at the Woodsville Boat Launch (off Connecticut Street) and ends at Bedell Bridge State Park in Haverhill Corner. You drop your canoe or kayak off at the start (they'll watch over it for you) then drive to Bedell Bridge, leave your car, and catch either a 10:30 am or 11 am shuttle back to the start. "Be sure to bring a few dollars to get some hot food as there will be hamburgers, corn on the cob & cold drinks," the town says.
. Things get going at 1 pm with a picnic, followed by Morris dancing, Maypole dancing, a community barn dance, and then a pub sing at Salt Hill at 5 pm.
For the second concert of its Chamber Concert series, the UU church brings in Chi-Chen Wu on piano and Sam Ou on cello for a program of works by Robert Schumann, Samuel Barber and Sergei Rachmaninoff. In the sanctuary. No charge, but they won't turn down donations. 2 pm.
Steven Soderbergh's new film stars Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett as an MI6 power couple whose marriage gets tested when Fassbender "is tasked with finding out who in his department leaked a top secret cyber weapon"—and Blanchett is one of the suspects. 2 pm in the Loew.
The coffee house at the Unitarian Universalist Community in Norwich welcomes back the Pennsylvania-based trio of Rose Baldino, Brian Buchanan, and Caroline Browning—three-fifths of the current lineup of Celtic rock stars Enter the Haggis. Lush harmonies, Celtic, neoclassical, indie folk, and other influences. 4 pm Sunday.
The community chorus tackles everything from Verdi's "Anvil Chorus" to "Here Comes the Sun" and "Both Sides Now". 4 pm Sunday.
Whew, eh?
So let's keep this short. In addition to playing at the Chandler in Randolph tomorrow night, Mary Frances Leahy (all of 19) put out a debut album last year,
First Light
. It's all originals, as well as an announcement that while Celtic music may be in her bones, she's got a wider vision.
Okay, you can sit back down. 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.
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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