GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Sunny to start, warm again. It'll maybe be a couple of degrees cooler than yesterday, but with winds from the southwest we'll still reach the 50-degree line in plenty of spots. There's weather approaching from the west tonight, and clouds will start moving in ahead of it this morning. Chance of rain this evening, likelihood overnight, with a low around 40.Look up!
For the last week or so, what seem like thousands of crows have been wheeling through the skies above White River Junction. Jonathan Frishtick caught them on video the other day. They're pretty awe-inspiring.
So were the stars in a clear sky above Lake Morey last night, from Norman Kalen.
But you don't need multitudes to be awe-inspiring. On the flanks of Wright's Mountain in Bradford, VT, Cindy Fountain saw this solo, low-flying hot air balloon last week.
And speaking of looking up... In case you've been wondering about a string of lights up in the early evening sky the past few nights, they're SpaceX Starlink satellites that were launched Sunday, reflecting the sun. They'll still be visible the next few nights (assuming clear skies), reports WMUR's Jessica Kisluk, before they begin to spread out. One NH viewer tells her, "With all the balloons going on and all the question marks and unidentified objects flying in the sky... you know obviously [it] brings up a lot of questions." You can always check https://findstarlink.com/ just to be sure.Unless, of course, you've been up on the summit of Mt. Washington... In which case, that was the Aurora Borealis. Burgundy link is from yesterday morning. Here's early this morning (wait for the 15-second mark): not as spectacular, but atmospheric nonetheless—until the fog blows in.Maybe second time's the charm? The project to remake the Three Corners intersection at the center of Hartland has been in the works since 2014, and was set back last year after the town received a single bid that was so far over the budget set by the selectboard that the town rejected it. But last Friday, reports Curt Peterson in Mountain Times, the town opened two new bids, including one from WRJ's Notts Excavating that, at $1.28 million, is about $35K over an estimate prepped with the state's help. Town manager Dave Ormiston says it's being analyzed "to confirm specifications are as requested."SPONSORED: APD Orthopaedics is caring—and has the credentials. It’s the best of both worlds when you have a care team that treats you like family and has an excellent reputation for specialty surgery. We have openings for anterior approach hip replacements in 2023. Contact information, providers, and more here or at the burgundy link. Sponsored by APD.So, what are you having for dinner at The Old Courthouse in Newport, NH? That's Susan Apel's question in Artful for Jane Rastallis and Karen Doucette, the mother and daughter who run the restaurant. Rastallis opened it in 2004, the year after the actual courthouse that occupied the building moved to other quarters. They host book talks and lectures—including Ben Kilham, Bishop Gene Robinson, and others—and, of course, serve lunch and dinner, which for the last 15 years has been in the hands of executive chef Robert Steele. On the menu: "creative American cuisine."What are the odds? Remember the guy from Walpole who's set out to ski from the Canadian border to Walpole to document NH's changing winters? Turns out there's a guy from Burlington setting out next week to ski the length of VT from the MA border north, Instagramming all the way to document VT's changing winters. Bill Burrell, a science teacher, will be following the Catamount Trail—and unlike the NH trek, he tells WCAX's Elissa Borden he might have to bail if there's not enough snow. "It’s not so dangerous going up steep sections of the Catamount Trail," he says, "but coming down can be pretty treacherous."And in Covid news...
The NH Hospital Association reports steady numbers of hospitalizations for people with Covid: 99 yesterday compared to 93 on Monday and95 two weeks ago. The CDC reports low community levels statewide.
And in VT, writes VTDigger's Erin Petenko, the state continues to report "low" community levels of Covid, with 495 cases reported in the past week, compared to 509 the week before. There were 42 people hospitalized with Covid yesterday, down from 49 on Monday. The CDC reports low community levels except in Rutland and Bennington counties, which are at "medium."
VT settles excessive-use-of-force suit against staff at now-closed Woodside juvenile facility. The settlement, reports VTDigger's Alan J. Keays, will pay out $4.5 million (minus costs) to seven plaintiffs, six of whom were at the facility; the seventh is the estate administrator for a young person who's since died. They brought the suit in December, 2021, alleging use of excessive force, cruel and unusual punishment, and retaliation against youths who reported what the suit called “obscene abuse at the hands of state officials." The state acknowledges no wrongdoing in the settlement.In Northfield VT, a debate over how free a police chief should be to speak his mind. The question comes up because the chief, John Helfant, has been a vocal critic of the Orange Southwest school district and of Randolph Union HS for its approach to a 14-year-old transgender member of the girls' volleyball team who wanted to use the girls' locker room. Several groups have filed a complaint with Northfield, reports Seven Days' Alison Novak. Responds Helfant, "People speak out all the time: Plumbers, doctors, lawyers even, advocate for their kids at school board meetings. So why don't I get to?""We looked at snowboards as more like album covers." That's Burlington design consultant Michael Jager, commenting on the early days of Burton snowboards and, in particular, the work of board artist Scott Lenhardt, who began as a rider for the company but quickly got into designing. Lenhardt's the subject of a retrospective at the Vermont Ski & Snowboard Museum in Stowe, and Seven Days visual arts writer Pamela Polston traces the evolution of snowboard art, Lenhardt's art—and the time when, as a 4-year-old, he came home from Star Wars and drew the screen and the seats. In perspective.Setting records, and that’s not a good thing. In 2021 and 2022, waters in the Gulf of Maine off MA, NH, ME, and Canada were the warmest in recorded history. The AP's Patrick Whittle writes about a new report from the Gulf of Maine Research Institute that looks at the effects those temperatures are having on the creatures that live there. The Gulf's waters are heating up even faster than most oceans, sending the food chain out of whack and threatening puffins, North Atlantic right whales, and lobsters. Extreme heatwaves and cold spells that are becoming “vanishingly rare” are partially to blame.“A ballet of form and colour.” Look at Peter Woitschikowski’s images and you might see a Rousseau painting or cascades of silk fabric. In fact, writes Nina Strochlic in National Geographic UK, it's chemistry—plus artistry. Woitschikowski heats common chemicals or mixes them with water or alcohol, uses polarized light to bring them alive, then photographs them through a microscope—very carefully, at night when traffic won’t shake the setup, using a computer mouse to trigger the shutter so he doesn’t jostle the camera. “You don’t know what you’ll see when you begin,” he says. Check out vitamin C!No word yet on whether there's also a stuffed tiger in it. So... earlier this week and with little fanfare, Simon & Schuster put up a webpage for The Mysteries, a "fable for grown-ups" due out in October by Calvin & Hobbes creator Bill Waterston (a mere 28 years after he called it quits on his strip) and illustrator John Kascht. The plot? "A long-ago kingdom is afflicted with unexplainable calamities. Hoping to end the torment, the king dispatches his knights to discover the source of the mysterious events. Years later, a single battered knight returns." That's all they'll say. But it's already #1 on Amazon.A peregrine catches a ride on a goose. That's the photo wildlife photographer John Ovenden managed to get as he was out taking pics of birds on the Isle of Jersey and the falcon suddenly "shot up behind this goose, slowed down a little bit, and then rode it for a few seconds." Naturalist Ted Levin writes in, "I've never seen a peregrine hitch a ride before. Peregrines are bird predators. They do take ducks and gulls . . . but a goose is BIG." For its part, the goose seemed unperturbed, Ovenden reports.The Thursday Vordle. With a fine word from yesterday's Daybreak.
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Today at 4:30, Dartmouth's Dickey Center hosts a book talk with cultural anthropologist Margaret Willson about Captain Thurídur Einarsdóttir, the subject of Willson's new nonfiction book, Woman, Captain, Rebel: The Extraordinary True Story of a Daring Icelandic Sea Captain. Thurídur, who was born in 1777 and died in 1863, repeatedly defied convention, became renowned for her seacraft, her pursuit of justice for the abused, and her success at fishing, farming, and other physically demanding trades. Online and in Haldeman 41.
Also at 4:30, Dartmouth's history department hosts a public lecture by U of Georgia historian Timothy Yang on the history of Japan's pharmaceutical industry based on his book, A Medicated Empire. In particular, he follows the fortunes of Hoshi Pharmaceuticals, one of East Asia's most influential drug companies, and, says the college's history department, "shows how the development of the pharmaceutical industry simultaneously supported and subverted regimes of public health at home and abroad." Online and in Steele 006.
Starting at 5 pm and running until 7, the Hood Museum throws a Winter Opening celebration with a chance to learn about what's on view now, what's coming up, and an opportunity to explore the galleries for yourself. Live music with singer Grace Wallace, pianist Jason Pettus, bassist Peter Concilio, and Drew Matter on drums.
At 5:30, Sustainable Woodstock hosts Ham Gillett for a Q&A on recycling, composting, and "all things waste." The legendary outreach coordinator for the Greater Upper Valley and Southern Windsor/Windham Counties solid waste management districts will take on questions like how to get rid of batteries and paint, what to do with your car or bike battery after it dies, the whole food-scrap-police question, why some things aren't recyclable and who decides, and more. Online.
At 6 this evening, the Hartford Community Coalition is holding a "community conversation" on "The State of Safety and Substance Abuse in Hartford." Members of the Hartford police and fire departments, along with the police department's social worker, will give a rundown of where things stand, then lead a conversation about community-based solutions. Narcan training and kits will be available. In the Vermont Room of WRJ's Coolidge Hotel.
Also at 6, the Norwich Historical Society continues its online series, this time with a stump-the-experts session on everything Norwich with library director Lucinda Walker and historical society director Sarah Rooker. By donation, 20 percent of which goes to Health Care & Rehabilitation Services.
Finally, the Coast Jazz Orchestra's 7:30 pm concert in Collis Common Ground, presented by the Hop, may be sold out, but it's always worth a call to check for tix: 603.646.2422. Among other things, they'll be performing new music by composer, drummer, and vibraphonist Tomas Fujiwara and an ensemble made up of cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, cellist Tomeka Reid, and vibraphone player Patricia Brennan.
And let's start the day with...
"Lapsed caicki laolacatt (Personent hodie)". Because really, how could you not? The Finnish trio Ensemble Gamut! describe themselves as an "experimental collective of early music and folk music specialists, who are constantly searching for new ways to perform early music." They build from medieval sacred music and Finnish folk songs and, while hewing to the music, still make them, somehow, contemporary.
from their second album, RE, released a couple of months ago.
See you tomorrow.
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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Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Poetry editor: Michael Lipson Associate Editor: Jonea Gurwitt About Rob About Michael
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