AND THE WEEK STARTS, UPPER VALLEY!
Cooler, definitely wetter. There's a trough of low pressure that began moving in overnight, and it's going to put its feet up and set a spell. The result is more moisture flowing into the atmosphere above us, with showers headed here from the west and possible—oh, wait! There's some now!—thunder this morning. Chance of rain all day and tonight, otherwise cloudy, highs reaching toward 70, lows tonight in the upper 50s, winds from the south.Looking at light. "Photography," writes Etna photographer Jim Block, "is all about light." So he uses a batch of photos he's taken around the region over the last month to illustrate—and talk about why soft light can be so valuable, how to use light from the front, side, or back of the subject, why even mid-day light can sometimes work...and who's responsible for a brick right in front of the Sugar River Covered Bridge in Sunapee Harbor that reads, "Walk this way". Even if you just look at the pretty pictures, it's a treat on a rainy day.12A heads up. Construction begins this morning at 7 in the vicinity of Romano Circle, taking the heavily traveled West Leb road down to one alternating lane between 7 am and 5 pm for the next four months. This is a "full water, sewer, drainage, roadway and sidewalk replacement project" mandated by the EPA, the city says, and you can expect long delays.After "a year of challenge like no other," Dartmouth's decisions come in for scrutiny. Throughout the last year, President Phil Hanlon said last week, the college has struggled with adjusting to the pandemic, financial losses, and handling students' mental health needs. In the Valley News, Nora Doyle-Burr rounds up sentiment from students, faculty, and some alums who argue that a set of re-evaluations and reversed decisions—on the Geisel cheating scandal, axed sports teams, and mental health services in the wake of student suicides—make this "a good time for the college to reevaluate its priorities."Meanwhile, 2000 graduate. It was hot out there yesterday, Frances Mize writes in the VN, and temps "were amplified by the artificial turf of the football stadium, where graduation was held this year...for social distancing purposes. Lines of students streamed in and out of air-conditioned Leverone Field House throughout the ceremony, stripping off their black robes and laid down on the floor for a brief respite indoors." You can find the various speeches here, including historian Annette Gordon-Reed's commencement address.Phosphate levels spark concern at Lake Fairlee. Overall, writes Li Shen in Sidenote, the lake drew a "poor" rating in its 2020 scorecard from VT's Agency of Natural Resources, with mercury pollution, habitat condition, and presence of invasive species all drawing notice. In tributary sampling, the Lake Fairlee Association found phosphate spikes correlated with new construction and grazing, though Shen writes that other sources—including failing septic systems and fertilized waterside lawns—may also be contributing. Whippi Dip's replacement; Thai jump in Leb. Sweet n' Salty Rae's opened June 3 in the iconic former Whippi Dip in Fairlee—and had to close two days later because it ran out of food, John Lippman reports in the VN. Owner Amanda Rae Hill of Newbury, VT, opened again Thursday for regular weekend hours. Meanwhile, Lippman adds in his Sunday "Bottom Line" column, Lebanon is about to have four Thai restaurants, as New Thailand Cuisine plans to open in the former Stone Arch Bakery space and Hanover's Tuk Tuk adds a beachhead in the old Dunkin' spot—joining Pim's and Bangkok Thai Express."Slick, bawdy, cohesive and delightful." It's fair to say that theater critic Jim Lowe really liked pretty much everything about Northern Stage's return to the stage with The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). The Courtyard Theater, its outdoor venue, is "charming," he writes. And of actors Jenni Putney, Grayson DeJusus, and Eric Love, he writes, "There is no point in focusing on one actor or another as they were so in sync that they were nearly one. Although it may seem an odd analogy, their antics had the precision and depth of chamber music."Dartmouth startup aims at pancreatic cancer. In the VN, Lippman details the efforts by Steven Leach, who directs the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, and cancer biologist Surajit Dhara to improve outcomes for people with pancreatic cancer. The illness has an 80 percent mortality rate and is projected to become the second leading cause of cancer deaths by 2030. Their new company is starting with a kit that tests for whether patients will respond to chemotherapy (and thus speed treatment decisions); next, reprogramming the genes in chemo-resistant tumors to make them more responsive to treatment.Ms. Happy's third-grade class prevails. I know! You've been on the edges of your seats since January, when students in Tara Happy's class at Hollis Elementary made their case to a state House committee on behalf of naming the daring jumping spider the New Hampshire state arachnid. Well, on Friday, Gov. Chris Sununu signed the bill that resulted from their efforts, which had sailed through both chambers. Now the jumping spider, writes the AP's Holly Ramer, can finally take its place by the New Hampshire Red, the pumpkin, the white potato, and the red-tailed hawk as a state symbol.$3.8 million. That's how much 14,000 Granite Staters gave to 584 organizations around the state over the 24 hours of NH Gives last week. They broke last year's record ($3.4 million), which itself was more than the four previous years combined. The Friends of Mascoma Foundation, which supports the Mascoma schools, was the third-ranking recipient in the state, taking in almost $44K. Among other locals, Visions for Creative Housing Solutions took in $13K and the Enfield Shaker Museum $9K.Climate change, gypsy moths, "crazy worms." Can a maple tree get a break, here? Jumping worms, an 1800s import from Asia, have taken time getting established in the Northeast, but they seem to like it here. Which is bad news, because unlike earthworms, they are a malign influence on the forest. In particular, reports NPR's Bill Chappell, the worms eat the leaf litter and "duff layer" that cover the forest soil, stressing out maples—which have shallow root systems—and demolishing the medium small plants use to germinate, which leads deer to look for other growing things...like maple saplings."I then fell into the water and tore my trousers, but it was worth it." It's a tough gig, being a bird photographer. The Guardian asked readers for their best bird photos—and the stories of how they got them. That quote's from a biologist who leaned on a river-bank tree to capture a male mandarin duck in Scotland. Others went farther afield—photographing an araripe manakin in Brazil, an Andean cock-of-the-rock in Peru, a swamp francolin in Nepal, a kea in New Zealand... which, "like all of the keas I’ve met, was incredibly inquisitive and walked right up to me and tried to take a big bite out of my shoe."
Since neither New Hampshire nor Vermont is reporting Covid data on weekends any longer, we'll catch up in this space tomorrow. Daybreak doesn't get to exist without your support. Help it keep going by hitting the maroon button:
NHPR's Laura Knoy hung up her mic last week, and today at 9 am she gets to experience what it's like sitting on the other side of the table, as Peter Biello interviews her about her 25 years as host of The Exchange. They'll talk about the show's origins, memorable moments, and how NH has evolved over the last quarter-century.
Remember last Thursday's article on Emma Gatewood, the grandmother who was the first to thru-hike the AT? It was from a new book by Philip D'Anieri, The Appalachian Trail: A Biography, and today at 6 pm he'll be hosted online by Northshire Books to talk about it. It's a history of the trail, but told through the characters who had a hand in creating, clearing, hiking, and mythologizing it—in other words, it's the story of the trail told through the people who have made it more than just a ribbon cleared through the woods, from Horace Kephart, who charted its southern end, to Gatewood to Bill Bryson.
It's e-bike changeover day. You may remember that a bunch of libraries in the region have gotten together to lend out e-bikes for people who want to check them out. The bikes have been in Hanover for the last few weeks; today they make their debut in Norwich (through July 4) before moving on to Lebanon. A few overnight loans are available; test rides are Sundays-Tuesdays for 30 or 60 minutes, and you'll definitely want to reserve.
Finally, now that farmers' market season is in full swing, you might want a handy cheat sheet to remind you of which markets are running when. Vital Communities has a single-page PDF that runs down days, times, and towns for you. There's one somewhere most days of the week—except Mondays and Tuesdays. But heck, it's raining today and tomorrow anyway.
Let's just ease into the week... William Ghezzi, the jazz and classical guitarist who lives in Lebanon,
which was written for violin but lends itself quite wonderfully to guitar.
See you tomorrow.
Daybreak Where You Are: The Album. Photos of daybreak around the Upper Valley, Vermont, New Hampshire, and the US, sent in by readers.
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!