GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Partly sunny, things start to warm up. We're at the beginning of a warming (and humidifying) trend, as winds from the south pick up over the next few days. For today, high pressure's in place, with temps getting into the mid 70s under a mix of sun and clouds. Lows tonight in the mid 50s.Look what was in the flower garden! In Norwich on Friday, Courtney Dobins writes, she came upon this very young fawn hidden among her Astrancia flowers. "I read fawns could be left alone for 6-12 hours," she adds, and sure enough, she reports, "the mom came back in a couple of hours and the fawn ran up to meet her in my yard. She nursed and groomed the baby and then led her down to another spot in the field."Towns gear up for 200th anniversary of the Marquis de Lafayette's tour. The French Revolutionary War hero visited the region in 1824-25, and weekend after next, reports Liz Sauchelli in the Valley News, a series of Upper Valley towns will host reenactments. They'll start in Bradford, NH, then move on to Newport, Claremont, Cornish, Windsor, Hartland, Woodstock, and Barnard before ending in Royalton. The events include an early-morning carriage-drawn crossing of the Cornish-Windsor Bridge with reenactor Michael Halbert as Lafayette. “I don’t think we would have chosen 7:30 in the morning if it wasn’t his actual schedule,” says W. Windsor Historical Society President Karen Diop.
Thousands turn out for Saturday W. Leb-to-WRJ demonstration. For about an hour and a half Saturday afternoon, some 4,200 people—hand-counted, reports Eric Francis—lined the roadway between the top of Bridge Street in West Leb and Hartford Town Hall across the river, part of the national "No Kings" rallies. A brief series of Eric's photos at the burgundy link, including a solitary counter-protester. Marion Umpleby's story in the VN here.Sunapee Fire Department warns of uptick in car-deer collisions. The latest was on Friday night on Springfield Road, and the department reports that "within the last couple of days, there have been numerous deer strikes not only in Sunapee but also in surrounding towns." The department's urging caution while driving. No injuries were reported in Friday's incident.At Dartmouth, a new database catalogues soil fungi traits. As Liana Wait writes for Dartmouth News, it's well-known that below-ground mycorrhizal fungi help plants obtain soil nutrients in exchange for sugars; what's not well-known is how fungal characteristics affect their distribution and function. So for the last six years, environmental studies prof Bala Chaudhary and her lab have been building a database of traits exhibited by fungal spores—which they use to reproduce and spread—in hopes it will spur new studies, like one finding that larger spores thrive in warm, wet climates... but don't disperse far.NH jury acquits political operative behind faked 2024 Biden robocalls. Steven Kramer, who's based in New Orleans, admitted orchestrating the robocalls that went out to Democratic voters before the 2024 primary. He was in court in Laconia last week on charges of voter suppression and impersonating a political candidate—where, reports the AP's Holly Ramer, he testified he "wanted to send a wake-up call" about the dangers of AI and argued that the primary was "unsanctioned by the DNC, and therefore the state’s voter suppression law didn’t apply." "Jurors apparently agreed," Ramer writes.May-June rains knock NH farmers off planting schedules. "I have farming friends that can’t get their planting done and if you don’t sow, you don’t reap,” Charlestown farmer Bob Frizzell tells NHPR's Julia Vaz. UNH field specialist Olivia Saunders tells Vaz many farmers in the state have struggled to get plants out of greenhouses and into their fields. “The plants aren’t thriving as much as they should and aren’t growing as much as we’d like them to at this point of the year,” she says. Still, some farmers say they're doing fine, including one Londonderry strawberry grower who says it's one of the best crops he's seen.
VT governor, legislative leaders come to terms on education reform. As VTDigger's Ethan Weinstein reports, there's still a long way to go, since their compromise still has to get the approval of both the House and the Senate—"far from a done deal on what’s become a proposal filled with policies that are unpopular for some Democrats and Republicans." Both Scott and members of the conference committee that came up with the plan spent the weekend detailing it to legislators: its creation of regional districts and shift of spending authority from local boards and voters to the state. Weinstein explains.Border towns in the limelight. The tariffs and cross-border rhetoric between the US government and Canadians continues to draw curious national reporters to Derby Line, VT, Stanstead, QC, and neighboring towns. Gift links to both stories below.
In the WSJ , reporter Joe Barrett and Barnard-based photographer Kelly Burgess visited Derby Line and the Haskell Free Library to cover its international travails—and the fundraising effort led by renowned mystery writer Louise Penny to raise money for library improvements that will make it easier and more pleasant for locals on the Canadian side to use it. “It’s become vital as a symbol," Penny tells Barrett—"not to just keep it open, but to show that there is support for that symbol."
And yesterday in the NYT, Jenna Russell (with photographs by Hilary Swift) reported on locals in Beebe Plain and Derby Line VT—where President Trump drew strong support in November and, for many, still does—grappling with a "breakdown in relations" that has produced "unexpectedly strong feelings. Embarrassment and sadness prevail on the American side. Anger and hurt dominate in Canada." Russell writes about their concerns, and individual efforts to reach across the divide.
The Monday jigsaw. It takes you back to an 1892 Harvard-Dartmouth baseball game, writes the Norwich Historical Society's Cam Cross. "Zooming into the original photo"—you'll find it here—"rewards you with details of life in New England 133 years ago," Cam writes. "There are very few hatless in the crowd, most garbed in what would now be considered 'dressy' clothing. Also of note are the many carriages, including one with two horses that looks to be a taxi, with the driver reading a paper. Behind the crowd you can see carriages whizzing by on North Main St. In the distance stands The Wheelock Inn."Today's Wordbreak. With a word from Friday's Daybreak.
And to start us off this week...
The Toronto-based indie-folk band Great Lake Swimmers just came out with their first track in a couple of years. It "pinpoints a very distinct feeling for me,” says lead singer and guitarist Tony Dekker. “Riding around in the summertime with the windows down — maybe after a solid workday, maybe on route to an epic road trip, or maybe just seeing familiar surroundings with renewed vision."
."
See you tomorrow.
Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Associate writer: Jonea Gurwitt Poetry editor: Michael Lipson About Rob About Michael
If you like Daybreak and would like to help it keep going and evolve, please hit the "Support" button below and I'll tell you more:
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! Subscribe at no cost at:
Thank you!