GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Cloudier, still hot. We may actually get into the 90s today, and it's going to be more humid than yesterday. At some point this afternoon a cold front arrives, bringing with it a slight chance of rain and maybe a thunderstorm in spots—and a chance to clear the smoke and hot air. "Lows" in the mid 60s tonight.Fox at dusk. "While getting ready to mow the lawn," writes Amber Wylie from Strafford, "I saw this beautiful fox come down my hillside. I ran inside to grab my camera and got a few shots. Five minutes later, the sun sank behind the mountains, dimming the ambient light enough that this shot would have been impossible."It's time for Dear Daybreak! This week's gathering of anecdotes and reflections from around the Upper Valley brings us Karen Sears Sheldon's story about the time she went in the wrong way at the Hanover Post Office drive-through; Jay Benson's update on the 1909 Quechee Library you read about last week; Doug Miller trekking poetically along the Ompompanoosuc; and Deb Clough on what it's like to actually stand amidst the end of a rainbow. And if you've got something to share, please do send it in!Windsor police move in on "animal hoarding incident." In all, reports John Lippman in the Valley News, they removed 165 animals from the mobile home they'd been kept in, including 28 dogs, 14 cats, 11 guinea pigs, 40 sugar gliders, four rabbits and 68 birds. “This turned out to be a very complex operation to put together...because of all the regulations involved,” town manager Tom Marsh tells Lippman. The Lucy Mackenzie Humane Society and humane societies from Springfield and Windham and Chittenden counties were also involved, along with a vet, animal control officers, and others.SPONSORED: From Pain to Power. Recovery doesn’t always follow a straight path. For Kelly Dellovo, the aftermath of a car crash meant learning to move differently, rebuilding trust in her body, and finding her way back to daily life. What started with uncertainty became a steady climb forward: one step at a time, rebuilding strength, confidence, and connection. Read her story, "After the Crash", at the burgundy link or here. Sponsored by Cioffredi & Associates Physical Therapy.Looking for stuff to do? There's always Daybreak's Heads Up section, but as you may have seen, it's taking a six-week break in July and August (you can sign up for Daybreak Diversions here--definitely read the notes!). So there are two (relatively) new calendars on the scene you might want to know about.
One was built by Jason Hirschorn. He writes that one day, wandering around Lebanon, he "walked into Colburn Park...knowing I'd run into someone I knew if I took a lap or two through the Farmers' Market. Right on cue, friends were smiling, laughing, and wandering about with their families. It was a very 'Upper Valley' hour: fun things to do and people to meet around every turn!" He's built an evolving "UV Summer Fun" calendar for June, July, and August to help other find that feeling (focus on food and/or music, all family-friendly). Subscribe and it shows up in your Google Calendar, and you can toggle on/off as needed.
The other was built by Pete Ericson and Tyler Channell. Called "UVHere," it's an evolving, entirely AI-fueled events calendar that pulls from a wide array of sources, including Dartmouth, movie theaters, libraries, events venues, and more, all over the Upper Valley, sortable by date, location, and category.
SPONSORED: Feast and Field tasting and silent auction at Fable Farm! Gather your friends this Saturday at 7 pm and head over to the historic Fable Farm barn in Barnard for a thoughtfully crafted Feast and Field tasting menu by local chef Ira White, a selection of beverages to complement the farm-to-table offerings, and live music by local singer/songwriter Jason Cann. Proceeds to benefit the Upper Valley Waldorf School. The silent auction is now live and open for bidding, with everything from art to mini golf to an inn stay. Ticket sales close Friday at midnight. Sponsored by the Upper Valley Waldorf School.Back with us: birds, bats, and native orchids. In its “Field Guide to June,” the VT Center for Ecostudies looks at montane birds, like the Bicknell’s Thrush and Blackpoll Warblers, which migrate north in the spring to breed high up in the forest. But they don’t stay put—they travel up and down the mountain, responding to weather. White bog orchids, with “dense spikes of sweet-smelling, pure-white flowers,” are blooming, one of 50 wild orchid species in VT. And house bats are back in attics and barns. Little Brown Bats have been decimated by White-Nose Syndrome, so bat houses are much appreciated.You’re tough but are you as tough as a turtle? (Answer: no). That's the headline atop David Brooks' Granite Geek blog post about New Hampshire Turtle Rescue in Nottingham, the state’s only licensed turtle rehab center. “We have some turtles that come in just totally obliterated-looking. People tell us, ‘No way it’s going to survive.’ We give them pain meds, put the shell back together, and they pull through just fine,” says the board president. Most of the turtles that come in were hit by cars, but there's also the occasional attack by a dog. Brooks profiles the center, and how it goes about repairing turtles."I love this banana!" Franconia artist Alison Dodd considers the five-foot sculpture of a foam-and-fiberglass banana hanging from a large steel fishing rod one of the town's more interesting art works—only last week, reports the Globe's Amanda Gokee (no paywall), it was stolen. It was part of the Franconia Artwalk, and it was vulnerable because, unlike most other works on display, it wasn't bolted into concrete. “The idea of someone trying to smuggle around a giant banana is just objectively hilarious," wrote its creator, "but of course I am annoyed that the sculpture can’t be seen anymore." Scroll to the bottom for pic.Ever wanted know what it's like to hike up and then ski down Tuckerman Ravine? WBZ Boston anchor Chris Tanaka has. So as part of the CBS station's "Never Too Late" series, he and friends and a very game cameraman headed up the mountain recently, with a guide. "The hike itself, it's serious business!" he exclaims as they trudge up. "You see the glamorous skiing, but you don't often see this part of it." And once at the top? "I gotta admit, I was nervous." Spoiler alert: He looked pretty good going down...The Game Warden Channel. Remember how the creators of the Animal Planet series North Woods Law are once again working with NH Fish & Game on a new series? Well, the trailer's out. "The time is now... For a new adventure..." it begins, over scenes of New Hampshire woods and ponds, with dramatic music in the background. Behind the move to return catamounts to Vermont. And what could stop it. There are dozens of sightings reported every year, notes Seven Days' Kevin McCallum, "though none has ever been verified by state wildlife biologists." The last documented catamount in the state was shot in Barnard in 1881. But now, a few legislators are kicking around the idea of mounting an effort to reestablish them in the state, on the theory that returning an apex predator would be good for the environment. On the other side: VT Fish & Wildlife, which cites cost, limited bandwidth, limited suitable habitat, and "conflicts" with humans.In an orchard in Maine, Yellow Bell Flower, Transcendent Crabapple, and most remarkable of all, Golden Cloth of Brittany. That last one—officially Drap D'Or de Bretagne—is an apple that grows on only one tree in North America, on Verona Island, ME, and it's "one of a few historic apples that are the genetic ancestors of many of the common varieties we eat today," reports Maine Public's Ari Snider. The tree itself isn't much to look at—half the trunk is gone and what's left is hollow—but then, it's probably at least 200 years old, one of the oldest living apple trees on the continent. Snider dives in.Rhinos with wigs and a bird cursing Ikea … humor goes wild. The Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards contest is open for another month, and the organizers are giving us a sample of the entries so far—more than a thousand of them, writes Jessica Stewart for My Modern Met. Clearly, humor has no borders. There’s a helping paw from a lion sibling in Kenya, a reptilian headdress from the Galapagos Islands, and a roe deer in flight in the Netherlands. Want to submit your own photo? You’ve got 'til June 30. It’s free to enter and amateur photographers are welcome. The winner gets to go on safari in Kenya. The Thursday Wordbreak. With a word from yesterday's Daybreak.
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Zsoldos (on sax) is one of the local mainstays of Interplay Jazz; he'll be joined by pianist Bruce Sklar, drummer Tim Gilmore, and bassist Ben Kogan for both interpretations of US and South American pieces and originals. Doors and food at 5:30, music at 6.
You probably know the story by now: Ellen Jovin and her cross-country grammar table trek to answer ordinary people's questions about the fine and not-so-fine points of punctuation and pronunciation, and the film her husband made about it all. They're on tour now, and will be on hand—table included—both before and after LOH's 7 pm screening.
"There are no judgments at the grammar table!" Jovin says.
: essayist, former PBS personality, and Amherst prof Ilan Stavans' recent talk at the Norwich Public Library on how forgetting lets us deal with life; Memorial Day observances in Norwich and Hartford; and Lebanon High School's spring concert, featuring its orchestra, choir, and jazz band.
And for today...
The young (they all met at conservatory in 2023) and upcoming (they reached the finals of the Battle of the Folk Bands at Celtic Connections early this year) Scottish trad band Lussa. Two fiddles, guitar, and keyboards
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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