GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Oh, gosh, how much calm, sunny weather can a person take? Of course, it's northern New England, so don't get used to it. But for today, anway, high pressure's building in and we get lots of sun and blue skies after whatever fog's around first thing clears out, temps reaching toward 80, mild winds from the northwest, mid-50s again overnight.Up close and personal with a snapper. Well, actually, not that close: photographer Jim Block has a mighty good telephoto lens. Which is good enough to catch three mosquitoes bugging a snapping turtle he was photographing. And while he was out and about, he also caught painted turtles, a wood turtle, a cottontail, a red-spotted admiral butterfly, the landscape around Washington and Lempster, wildflowers, and a pile of cloud photos from around these parts.And speaking of sky...
Here's evening on the White near Royalton, by Sharon photographer Jeff Demers, a relative newcomer to the Upper Valley and a definite newcomer to this spot;
And the setting sun lighting up the clouds over W. Fairlee on Monday, by John Pietkiewicz.
Hartford Selectboard meeting debates flag display—and Kim Souza's comments. It was the first public meeting since Souza, a member of the Selectboard, lit up social media by commenting that the line of American flags put up by an American Legion post is not a welcoming symbol to all. Souza came in for direct criticism, reports Darren Marcy in the Valley News... but so did the vitriol that's surfaced online. “The American flag, it’s what we all fought for," said Scott Holmes, the father of Lance Cpl. Jeffery Holmes, who was killed in Iraq and for whom the Legion post is named. "If we don’t become united, we might as well tear all the flags down. Stop this fighting.”SPONSORED: Free yoga in July at Upper Valley Yoga! For the month of July, when you sign up for a class in UV Yoga's White River Junction space, you can bring a friend for free! No need to register them, just bring your friend along (make sure they have their own mat), and share the love! And for July only, subscribe to Yoga Now (our separate site of yoga recordings, over 350 classes of all kinds) and get 30 days for free. Sponsored by Upper Valley Yoga.Kickstands up! Most Thursday evenings somewhere in the Upper Valley, a group of women meet to mountain bike one or another of the trail systems the region's known for. Tonight, it'll be Boston Lot. Glorious Ladies on Wheels, some 200 strong now, got organized about a year and a half ago to bring women of all abilities and goals—from pro athletes to "professional leisure" riders—together. Three of the organizers, Juli Hamblin, Janet Moore, and Anna Schaal, run a podcast (at the maroon link) that covers everything from bike mechanics to a conversation with bike shop owners in the region.New Oak Hill Music Festival will bring classical musicians together for three Upper Valley concerts next month. In the VN, Alex Hanson previews the festival, which was created by Hanover High grad Leah Kohn, a bassoonist—“I knew it was my musical voice,” she says of hearing one for the first time at the Ray School—and her husband, violinist Niv Ashkenazi. The concerts, at the First Congregational Church of Lebanon and Norwich Congregational Church July 13-16, will feature a wide array of pieces and nine musicians, including cellist Daniel Lelchuk, another Hanover High grad.Three medical curiosities tied to one small Vermont town. That would be Cavendish, population 1,392. In a Seven Days cartoon, writer Ken Picard and local cartoonist Annabel Driussi (she's also one of the forces behind the revival of the Ladybroad Ledger, but more on that tomorrow) tell the stories of Phineas Gage, who probably needs no introduction; Nettie Stevens, who these days gets the credit long denied her for discovering the X and Y chromosomes; and fur trapper Alexis St. Martin, who lived in Cavendish near the end of his life and whose story is better read sometime other than breakfast."As a nation [we] have been building on average one dam per day since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.” That's Dartmouth geography prof Francis Magilligan, co-author of a new paper by Dartmouth researchers that's found striking differences between the northern and southern hemispheres in how much sediment rivers transport. Healthy sediment transport is critical to habitats, but over the past 40 years, the researchers found, rivers in the north have seen major reductions thanks to dam-building. In the southern hemisphere, deforestation has led to large increases.NH identifies first probable case of monkeypox. The state health dept yesterday announced the case has been tentatively identified in a resident of Rockingham County, and that the agency is "working to identify others who may have been exposed." In a press release, the departments chief medical officer, Jonathan Ballard, says, "While this is a concerning development, the risk to the general public is very low.” The CDC had identified 224 cases in 26 states as of Monday; with yesterday's announcement, NH joins MA and RI among the New England states with reported cases.To Franklin NH's growing attractions, add Asian-Jewish-Hungarian fusion. Which are pretty much embodied in Miriam Kovacs, the chef-owner of The Broken Spoon, whose parents are Sri Lankan and Hungarian-Jewish. The restaurant's actually been open since late 2020, but, writes David Brooks in the Monitor, it just had its belated official ribbon-cutting yesterday. You'll find everything from bao buns to meat skewers to seaweed chiffonade in ramen. “Sometimes I incorporate Velveeta!” Kovacs says. "Hey, embrace it all! Our country is a melting pot of cultures... why not?"50 to 60 days a year above 90 degrees F. That's what UNH climate scientists are predicting for New Hampshire by 2100 in their latest climate report if carbon emissions aren't brought under control. Winter temps, meanwhile, could be an average of 10 degrees warmer, putting a serious dent in the winter rec industry, while annual rainfall—which has already increased 8 inches since 1901—will continue rising... as, potentially, will floodwaters. “Human driven climate change is happening now and we’re at a critical crossroads," says veteran UNH researcher Cameron Wake, one of the authors.Feds take aim at illegal opioid prescriptions in NH, VT, ME. Yesterday, they announced a new task force that will operate out of the NH US Attorney's office and target doctors, dentists, and pharmacists who are contributing to the overdose epidemic. “We are focused on those who seek to profit from patient addiction, and are contributing to the plague of opioid abuse and overdose, too often with deadly results,” said U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite. In VT, reports Colin Flanders in Seven Days, a fifth of people who fatally overdosed last year had prescription opioids in their system.$16 mil? $19.5 mil? Steals! Those are the most expensive homes for sale in VT and NH: a 68-acre Stowe estate with helicopter pad, zipline, and 11 bedrooms; and Lakeside Manor in Wolfeboro, with 841 feet of Winnipesaukee shoreline, a 900-bottle wine cellar, and a 15-seat theater. While those prices might seem a tad out of reach, they pale next to the $25 million chateau in NJ, the $40 million log home in MT, the $60 million castle (seriously, you have to see this thing) in CT, and the $225 million mansion in Malibu highlighted by Business Insider in its list of the most expensive homes for sale in every state.Just put it bluntly. Vermont officials continue to scratch their heads over how to keep big trucks from trying to get through Smugglers Notch. "This has been a source of frustration for us for many, many years. Decades," Gov. Phil Scott said after that truck shut down the road for three hours the other night. Daybreak reader Kate Van Dine has a suggestion: Use the wording that greets motorists on Route 58 at the foot of Hazens Notch after it shuts down for the winter. Her pic at the link.Coyotes hanging out on the street in Niagara-on-the-Lake, a rat emerging from a sewer in Cuernavaca, monkeys chewing on bread in Kingston, Jamaica... The London-based photography platform Picfair just finished hosting the first annual Urban Wildlife Photography Awards, and they're pretty much proof that while humans think cities belong to us, we're really just deluding ourselves.The Thursday Vordle. And for those of you who've been reveling in the un-Wordle-like Sfreedom of trying non-words... sorry, party's over. Vordle overlord Kevin McCurdy reports that from now on, it's real words only.
And the trends...
On Tuesday, Dartmouth reported there had been 69 active cases during the previous 7 days, up a bit from the 59 reported last week. There were 13 undergrad cases (+6), 17 grad/professional cases (+3), and 39 faculty/staff (+1).
NH cases have risen slightly, with a 7-day average now of 236 new cases per day versus 221 last week. There were 10 deaths reported over the past week, bringing the total to 2,582. Under the state's rubric of counting only people actively being treated for Covid in hospitals, it reports 18 hospitalizations (-5 from last week). The NH State Hospital Association reports 76 inpatients with confirmed or suspected cases (-29) and another 43 Covid-recovering patients. As you'll remember, the state now reports positive cases in the last 14 days: 183 in Grafton County (-68 from last week), 93 in Sullivan (-6), and 331 in Merrimack (+27). Town-by-town numbers have been dropping: There were 32 over the past two weeks in Claremont, 31 in Hanover, 22 in Lebanon, 16 in Newport, 13 in New London, 11 in Enfield, 10 in Sunapee, 9 in Haverhill, 9 in Lyme, 8 in Charlestown, 7 in Grantham, 7 in Newbury, 6 in Rumney, 5 in Canaan, 5 in Wilmot, and 1-4 in Piermont, Orford, Wentworth, Orange, Grafton, Plainfield, Springfield, Cornish, Croydon, and Unity.
Vermont rates community transmission levels as low, with its weekly surveillance report yesterday reporting 653 new cases over the week between June 19 and June 25, vs. the 785 reported from the week before. The moving average is now 89 cases a day, up a bit from 86 a week ago, but still lower than early June. As Erin Petenko notes in her VTDigger wrapup, the state shut down its PCR testing sites last week, and it's still too early to say how that shift has affected the data. The state also reported 33 new hospital admissions over the week, down 9 from last week. Specifically, VTDigger's charts show 25 people were hospitalized with the virus as of yesterday, vs. 22 a week ago. Deaths have fallen measurably, with 11 reported for June with one day to go, well below May's 32 deaths.
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With music starting at 6, Feast and Field in Royalton this week brings in Mal Maïz, the Burlington-based Afro-Latino dance orchestra led by Costa Rican multi-instrumentalist Maiz "Brujo" Vargas Sandoval. The band, which came together out of the weekly Latin Sessions at Burlington's Radio Bean some years back, blends traditional Latin American cumbia, montuno, son corrido, puya, and afro-Carribean sounds. Scroll down at the link.
And at 7 this evening, Maine-based mystery novelist Paul Doiron will be at the Norwich Bookstore reading from and talking about Hatchet Island, the latest in his series of crime novels featuring Maine game warden Mike Bowditch. Who, with his girlfriend, takes a sea kayaking trip to a remote research island... where mayhem ensues.
Also at 7, the Chandler's summer youth musical takes the stage in Randolph with Legally Blonde, the Musical. Elle Woods, Valley Girl and UCLA sorority president, heads to Harvard Law, defies expectations, and against all odds, thrives.
Yearning to sing? Wilder singer-songwriter Jes Raymond has landed a grant through the VT Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts for "These Mountains Sing." It's an effort to create a virtual chorus aimed at bringing people together in the wake of the pandemic by recording themselves singing Raymond's piece, "Together." "This project is for every human in the Green Mountains and the Connecticut River Valley who loves to sing," Raymond says. "I am aiming for a collaborative piece of art that is both musically exciting and accessible to singers of all ages and abilities. It’s not really a 'choral' piece as much as it is a VOICES piece. Not everyone sees themselves in a choir, but we all have a voice." She's looking for singers: Info for joining in here.
"Generally," the British singer-songwriter Eloise told an interviewer who asked her to describe her music last year, "it’s a romantic spin on heartbreak." At just 22, she's already being recognized as a breakout star in the UK for her revival of the torch song, clever lyrics, and deft fusion of jazz and folk.
off her mini-album,
Somewhere In-Between
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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 and writers who want you to 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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