GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Partly sunny, chance of rain. Low pressure edging our way from Quebec is dragging a weak cold front into the region, but for various reasons the weather folks don't expect it to produce much rain. Otherwise, mix of clouds and sun, temps getting into the low or mid-80s, winds from the southwest. It'll be cloudy tonight, down into the mid-60s.Sure you've seen the bumper sticker, but the actual place? Etna photographer Jim Block spent the early part of the summer wandering... well, pretty much all over the NH side of the river: Newport, Washington and E. Washington, Sunapee, Sutton, New London... He caught birds and dragonflies, barns and covered bridges and lots of sunsets, and scenes of all types. Most exotic of all, though, just for kicks he adds in some photos from South Dakota's infamous Wall Drug, sparked by an NH car sporting a "Where the heck is Wall Drug?" bumper sticker.And just a reminder to look up at the right time... It's been a good week or two for sunrises, sunsets, and photos of each. So, as day follows night, the Daybreak Where You Are album (which collects both) has expanded yet again.I am so going to try the chair trick! Auk and Eddie are still out traipsing around Henry's place—though Auk does get sidetracked by a spot of Walden. As he does every week in this spot (and will continue to do in CoffeeBreak), writer and illustrator DB Johnson chronicles the Lost Woods crew's doings: Scroll right to move on to the next panel or left to catch up on previous weeks. If you've missed a week (or more), check out the archive and synopsis behind the three little parallel lines at the top right.SPONSORED: Own one of the foremost lakefront properties in Vermont. A year-round house on 2.5 mile-long Lake Fairlee. Fine water views from almost every room. An unusually flat 2.4 acres with exceptional privacy and easy access to the lake. Twent-three minutes to Dartmouth, close to farm stands and burgeoning Fairlee. Garage, two outbuildings, a patio and a deck. Plus a Hurricane boat with 115 HP Yamaha. Classic lake house charm—but with modern systems and comfort. Call John Chapin at 603-290-0275. Sponsored by John Chapin. Hot-air balloon pilot dies in Bradford accident. The balloon, with four passengers, took off from Post Mills Airport yesterday afternoon and, at some point later, descended into a field, where the basket tipped; one passenger fell out. "During this sequence," the VT State Police say in a release, "the pilot became entangled in gear affixed to the balloon as it re-ascended and ended up entrapped underneath the basket, where he eventually fell to the ground from a height" into a field off Waits River Road. The balloon continued another 1.5 miles until it became entangled in trees in Piermont, where the three remaining passengers climbed down to safety. Police are withholding the pilot's name pending notification of relatives. The FAA and NTSB will investigate.VTC moves to evict Norwich Farm couple. The lease under which Chris Gray and Laura Brown lived at the farm while running their creamery expired June 30. “We are pursuing the legal measures that we have available to us to ensure that our tenant moves on,” VT Technical College President Pat Moulton tells the Valley News's Alex Hanson. At the same time, the college is still negotiating with the Norwich Farm Foundation over a potential sale of the property. A lawsuit against the college by Gray and Brown is also ongoing, and the college wants damages for a reduced sale price on property next door“It’s like a barn raising. You have this collective impact for your town... and you’re helping everyone stay warm.” That's Mike Kiess, who chairs Thetford's energy committee, talking about upcoming "build days" when people will gather to piece together inserts that fit inside existing windows and keep out the cold. The energy committees in Hanover and Norwich are joining up with Thetford and Strafford in an effort to help townspeople tighten up their homes for winter—and to make sure lower-income residents can get the inserts for only a nominal cost, reports Claire Potter in the Valley News.Hiking close to home: Dartmouth's Oak Hill Natural Area. Maybe you've skied there, but have you hiked it? The Upper Valley Trails Alliance checks in to recommend Oak Hill's assortment of nearly 16 miles of trails, many leading to a view out over Hanover known for its stunning sunset panorama and the large oak tree that crowns it. There are also single track mountain biking trails. Mexican food smackdown! Okay, now The News Quiz is serious. They want to know who you think has the best Mexican food in the Upper Valley: Lalo's, Boloco, Gusanoz, Moe's, Trail Break, Revolution Cantina? Plus, of course, other questions, like, is that WRJ sandwich spot called Funkalicious or Dunkalicious? Also, a good two-thirds of the people who responded last week think that improving crosswalk safety is either important or very important. When it comes to vaccination rates, highs and lows in NH's Upper Valley towns. At 80.5 percent of the population vaccinated, Grantham has one of the highest rates in the state—and at 19.4 percent, Unity one of the lowest. That's in a useful town-by-town map that accompanies Teddy Rosenbluth's Monitor story arguing that it's possible "two New Hampshires" could emerge as the Delta variant spreads. The rates, by the way, aren't wholly accurate, since they depend on 2019 population estimates. Still, they're indicative. Leb's at 72 percent, Lyme at 70 percent, and Hanover 66 percent.Nope, still a drought. In case you've been wondering, what with all the rain... The most recent federal drought monitor (data as of Tuesday) shows that all of Orange County and parts of northern Windsor and Grafton counties remain in a moderate drought (as do much of northern VT and NH). Northern Sullivan County's in an "abnormally dry" zone. Scant comfort. You may remember hearing that VT state Rep. Tim Briglin's Chevy Bolt caught fire in Thetford back at the start of July—after recall work to deal with battery fires. Now, reports WCAX, GM is telling 2017-19 Bolt owners who've had the recall work done on their electric vehicles to park outside—and not to leave them unattended while charging at night. GM, which is replacing Briglin's car, says it’s "working as fast as it can to solve the problem."Why you might consider taking down your birdfeeders. And no, it's not bears. There's a so-far-mysterious illness that's been killing songbirds as far north as New Jersey, reports David Brooks on his Granite Geek blog, and though there's no sign yet that it's reached New England, NH Audubon issued a statement yesterday pointing out that birds congregate at feeders and can pass on diseases (though this one doesn't seem to affect hummingbirds), and that “concerned individuals should consider taking in bird feeders as a precaution until more information on the current situation is available."As Amtrak preps return to VT, it deals with vandalism, trespassers on the tracks, and a washed-out culvert. Train service starts up again on Monday (those $1 fares? seats on the southbound Vermonter are sold out between several stations). Crews have been doing trial runs to prep, reports Vermont Business Mag's CB Hall, which is when engineers noticed people walking on the tracks. Meanwhile, up in Essex Junction, the station's been vandalized, and down in Dummerston on Wednesday, a storm washed out a culvert under the tracks. Crews are working to repair the damage in time for Monday's trains.Let's say you bought up a swath of a Vermont town. What would you do with it? If you're Broadway-producer-turned-physician-turned-entrepreneur Joshua Sherman and the town is East Arlington, Norman Rockwell's old stomping grounds, you turn it into an an "incubator for artistic projects." In Seven Days, Dan Bolles takes a long and intriguing look at Sherman and his plans for Old Mill Road Media—the high-end recording studio, housing, and offices for print publications he's created in some of the 23 old buildings he now owns in town. "The idea is that you don't throw away history; you embrace history," he says. "And then you reinvent for the next generation."Even just half a minute to notice "the way the sun is striking the kitchen sink" is good for the soul. On her Author, Can I Ask You? podcast, writer Joni Cole asks Shaftsbury, VT poet James Crews about his concept of carving out "soul time" every day. Crews is out with a new anthology, How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope. "I realized that one big thing we were missing in our country was this permission to feel joy," he explains. So he looked for poems "that made me feel better after I read them."Don't have a day trip planned to Burlington? Think again. Because how could you not make a point of grabbing a Somali cheesesteak from Kismayo Kitchen for lunch? Or an egg sandwich with za'atar-stewed greens from Poppy Cafe? Or the grilled haloumi from The Hind Quarter in Huntington? Those are among the seven "Absolutely Wonderful and Sort Of Weird Vermont Sandwiches" that Guster front man Ryan Miller lists in his latest Weird and Wonderful World newsletter. And this is only Part I! Okay, okay, I'm a total sucker for this kind of thing. Kevin Parry is a stop-motion animator and "video wizard" in Toronto. He's just come out with a short video in which he transforms himself into a bunch of random objects—a project, he says, that's perfect for when you've got a two-month-old at home. It's totally fun. And if you want to know how much work goes into creating, oh, 10 seconds of an illusion, here's his YouTube explainer for how he did the banana footage.
Last numbers for... a while.
NH reported 45 new cases yesterday, bringing it to an official total of 99,875. There were no new deaths, which remain at 1,381 altogether, while 13 people with confirmed cases are hospitalized (up 1). The current active caseload is at 238 (up 25) (many of the new cases in the last couple of weeks have been in Coos and Belknap counties). The state reports 12 active cases in Grafton County (up 3), 4 in Sullivan (up 1), and 23 in Merrimack (up 4). In town-by-town numbers reported by the state, Hanover has 5 (one of those is a student at Dartmouth, which is reporting its first active case in weeks), while Haverhill, Canaan, Lebanon, Enfield, Claremont, Newport, and New London have 1-4 each.
VT reported 13 new cases yesterday, bringing it to a total case count of 24,529. Deaths remain at 258, while 3 people with confirmed cases are hospitalized (down 1). Windsor County had no new cases and remains at 1,527 for the pandemic, with 6 over the previous 14 days, while Orange County likewise had no new cases and remains at 825 cumulatively and 3 over the past two weeks.
Daybreak doesn't get to exist without your support. Help it keep going by hitting the maroon button:
In case you feel like hitting the road to the NEK, at 6:30 tonight the Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro, VT is presenting the premier of the Vermont Suitcase Company's 2021 tour of Robin Hood. Eight actors, seven puppets, one "raucous, rowdy, relevant rendition" of the rob-from-the-rich classic. And in case you don't feel like traveling, they'll be at World Under Wonder in Ascutney next Thursday.
And tonight at 7, Opera North opens its 2021 season with Havana Nights: Bizet, Lecuona, and Puccini and circus acrobatics, juggling, and aerials. In the tent at Blow-Me-Down Farm in Cornish. There are just a tiny handful of tickets left for the entire run through the weekend.
Tomorrow's packed! Starting with an event you may never get another chance at: From 9:30 am to 5 pm, WRJ's John Flynn is hosting the 40th Anniversary New England Boomerang Corroboree at Sachem Field in W. Leb. This is a USBA-sanctioned competition, but beginners are welcome to observe for free or participate ($20 entry fee). As reader PS writes, "Time to find that boomerang in your basement and see if it will come back to you. We'll lend you some hardware if you haven't got your own, and tell you more than you want to know about the physics involved." How could you say no?
If you'd rather not engage with airborne flying objects, Billings Farm launches its 35th annual quilt exhibition today. There's an array of juried quilts (and their quilters), a quilt story walk, and a scavenger hunt—plus, of course, all the other things you can do at Billings while you're there. Runs through Aug. 22.
Or if you'd rather not dodge airborne flying objects but quilts are a little too passive, it's "Magnificent Mammals Day" at VINS, from 10 to 5. Mammals from around the world, black bears, mammals native to the region... you'll find presentations on all of them. Then, at 6 pm, mammalogist Cheryl Asa will give an online talk on her research into how wolves communicate and, VINS writes, "translate, as best as any human can, the complex language of these charismatic and often misunderstood predators."
At 6 pm tomorrow, Carol Langstaff—who led the community-based Flock Dance Troupe until its end a few years ago—is on to her next performance adventure: Point of View, a three-part dance, music, and theater production at Star Mountain in Sharon. In the apple orchard, Lucia Gagliardone and Natalie Junio-Thompson dance “Arboreal Duet”; the barn will host renaissance, baroque and contemporary music played by Sarah Cantor, Jesse Lepkoff, and Chris Rua; and on the porch of the house, Dan Deneen, Caitlin Langstaff, Jim Rooney, and Jason Schumacher perform Viewpoint, a one-act play written by Caitlin Langstaff and inspired by Rooney's song, "Point of View." More on it all in Liz Sauchelli's piece in the VN.
Tomorrow at 1 pm is the start of VoxLab, the weekend-long successor to VoxFest, focused on helping Dartmouth alums and other visiting artists develop new work in collaboration with students. Some of it's live, some is streamed, all is cutting-edge. Among other things, Sunday at 7 pm is a staged reading of Neukom Institute Literary Arts Award winner Gina Femia's play, meet you at the Galaxy Diner.
And at 7 pm tomorrow, the Hop's "Small Screen Fun" presents filmmaker Ken Burns and co-directors David McMahon and Sarah Burns online, showing clips from and talking about their new project, the four-part Muhammed Ali, which will air in September. No cost, but you'll need a ticket.
Finally, on Sunday at 4, the Upper Valley Music Center presents the premiere of a new film, Zoomberry, both in-person at the Briggs in WRJ and livestreamed online. The film, by local filmmaker Anna King, follows Patricia Norton and the Juneberry chorus during the pandemic, as they gathered online to perform traditional choral music as well as collaborate with dancer Claudia Rahardjanoto on a new body percussion/piano/tap piece. The film "records creativity, calamity, and commitment to community through art," writes UVMC. Live and online Q & A afterward moderated by Johanna Evans of the White River Indie Film Festival and the Choral Arts Foundation of the Upper Valley. No charge, but if you want to go to the in-person event, you'll need to reserve tix by 4 pm Saturday.
Not a Tolkien fan? Skip this. Otherwise... Geoff Castellucci is an
a cappella
bass singer who, with his group VoicePlay, likes to goof around with covers of popular songs. They're based in Orlando—apparently an
a cappella
hotbed, he once said, because of all the theme parks. Which makes complete sense when you check out the costuming
But what actually resonates, if you get past the visuals, are the harmonies and Castellucci's lower register—and, at this moment in Daybreak's life, the line, "We must away ere break of day..."
But a quick word before I do... As intense as the last 2 1/2 years have been, they've also been an inspiring daily reminder that Daybreak is nothing without the community around it. The talented photographers, illustrators, and podasters whose work we all get to savor; the sharp, hard-working writers at the
Valley News
, local blogs, and this region's great news organizations; those of you who've contributed and advertised and done your best to help Daybreak grow; an incredibly engaged, thoughtful, and thought-provoking cadre of readers—Daybreak's just a reflection of the Upper Valley (and beyond). Thanks to all of you. You make coming back something to look forward to.Those of you who subscribed to CoffeeBreak: In your inbox Monday! See the rest of you Aug. 23. Now I'll get out of your hair.
Want to catch up on Daybreak music?
Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Banner by Tom Haushalter Poetry editor: Michael Lipson About Rob About Tom About Michael
And if you think one or more of your friends would like Daybreak, too, please forward this newsletter and tell them to hit the blue "Subscribe" button below. And thanks! And hey, if you're that friend? So nice to see you! You can subscribe at:
Thank you!