GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Mostly cloudy, decent chance of showers. So… The weak front that came through just before dawn yesterday has moved south, while a new cold front is coming in from the northwest, and the combination is probably going to bring us rain this afternoon and evening, more likely south than north. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, highs in the low 70s, variable winds. Mid 50s overnight.
The chipmunks are nervous. And you would be, too, if you were that small and spotted this watchful barred owl that’s been hanging out in Quechee, from Dawn Niles.
A new pizza night rises in Perkinsville. As Corin Hirsch writes for Daybreak, “Farm pizza nights are a hallmark of Vermont summer, and in the Upper Valley, it seems like there may never be enough of them.” Crossmolina Farm in Corinth and Orchard Hill Breadworks in Alstead, NH almost always sell out. Now, she reports, Roo’s Farm in Perkinsville has joined the fun—and is selling out, too. Paula Boyle and her family top their pies with the farm’s seasonal produce—Apple pie pizza, potato au gratin pizza, even taco pizza topped with the farm’s goat chorizo; Paula sometimes plays electric cello; and next summer, they’re hoping they can use their own goat’s milk mozzarella. “I’ve been using it on my own pizza for years,” Paula says.
Slopping piglets, harvesting corn, cleaning bathrooms—and taking Honors English. Roshan Fernandez’s WSJ profile of The Mountain School in Vershire (gift link) starts this way: “At the semester-long Mountain School program, families pay $40,000 for their teens to do chores on a farm in rural Vermont.” In his piece, Fernandez writes that while some students attend the program with an eye on college admissions, the school’s got other aims in mind: making them appreciate the work that goes into maintaining any community; teaching them where food comes from (some kids can’t even identify the roots of a plant); and showing them life without screens. (If you get the big popup box, hit the tiny down-carat at the top right.)
SPONSORED: Do you have ideas about how to improve the patient and family experience at APD?Join our Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC). We're looking for patients and their family members to share their experiences, provide feedback, and collaborate with APD providers, staff, department leaders, and fellow council members to help strengthen patient and family-centered care. Participants can attend meetings in person or remotely based on their availability. To learn more, email [email protected]. Sponsored by Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital.
Just in case you weren’t there. And odds are you weren’t, when Noah Kahan played Spruce Peak in Stowe Tuesday night. As Boston.com’s Megan Margulies notes in her writeup, only 2,000 tickets were sold (through a lottery) for his two nights of shows—a far cry from the four record-breaking shows the local-boy-made-good did at Fenway in July. “It still feels like Bruce Springsteen returning to New Jersey,” Margulies writes. “‘There’s no place in the world I’d rather be tonight,’” Kahan said. Ticket prices were high—but as a result, Kahan announced from the stage, his mental-health-related Busyhead Project raised $3 million. Margulies describes the scene, the fans, the crowd singing along to “Call Your Mom”…
Once an English major, Thetford doc pens first novel. Ford von Reyn spent decades as an infectious disease specialist, medical researcher, and Geisel professor. But back in 1984 he visited Finland and, writes Marion Umpleby in the Valley News, “before he’d even disembarked the plane, he felt an affinity for the country.” Over four years, he turned his affection for the place and its people into Love from Afar: Finland, about a ski salesman from NH who visits the country during the Cold War and strikes up a decades-long correspondence with a Finnish nurse. Umpleby talks to him about the novel and how his own experiences in life helped shape it.
SPONSORED: Magnificent Mammals Day at VINS is just around the corner! Join VINS Saturday, Sept. 26, 10 AM to 5 PM, at the Nature Center. We'll be exploring tracks and scat, getting creative with crafts, and discovering the fascinating world of New England mammals. Meet goats from Five Rooster Farm, see live mammals with Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, and hear tales from the Vermont Museum of Natural History. Discover what makes our furred cousins so special and how important they are to our ecosystems. Full schedule and tickets at the burgundy link above. Sponsored by VINS.
It’s been over a year since NH was drought-free—and now drought’s expanding again. As of last week, more than half the state was in moderate drought, reports NH Bulletin’s Molly Rains. The big problem: In recent years, there hasn’t been enough snow to recharge aquifers, streams, and reservoirs. Or in the case of last winter, the plentiful snow that fell was unusually dry: “total snow water equivalent across the state was well below historical averages,” Rains notes. The spring and early summer made up for some of that, but dry conditions have returned, including to Grafton County. In VT, as of last week, most of Orange County was in moderate drought.
VT’s ed secretary tells school districts to hire new superintendents for just a year. The idea, reports Alison Novak in Seven Days, is that with potential school district consolidation on the table around the state, districts that might merge with others shouldn’t be tied down with a multi-year contract. But with considerable uncertainty about whether and when districts might merge, Ed Secy Zoie Saunders may be “getting a bit ahead of her skis,” says Margaret MacLean of the Vermont Rural School Community Alliance. Woodstock-area school board chair Keri Bristow says she doesn’t believe Saunders has the legal authority to dictate contract terms, and that the board will be advertising for a two-year position to replace outgoing Supt. Sherry Sousa.
On Friday evening, a county humane society “received a call about a raccoon across the street from the post office with a pickle jar stuck on its head.” That would be the Dickson County (TN) Humane Society, who called in first responders to rescue the well and truly stuck raccoon. Danica Sauter, of local station WMSV, reports on efforts to save the critter, who not only got his head jammed in a pickle jar, but then climbed a tree, pickle jar still in place. Police, fire, and sheriff’s deputies all responded. “Some might say, ‘It’s just a raccoon,’ but we believe no animal deserves to suffer or lose its life in that way,” said the humane society. Word is the raccoon is fine.
The Thursday Crossword. Just something to keep you busy over breakfast, from Laura Braunstein.
Today's Wordbreak. With a word from yesterday’s Daybreak.
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HEADS UP
Well, today’s the day: The Tunbridge World’s Fair blasts off. Gates open at 7 am, the oxen open log skid kicks things off at the grandstand at 9, and from then on it’s four full-on days of events, exhibits, food, entertainment, giant pumpkins, music, food, rides, games, food… Runs 7-9 tomorrow and Saturday, 8-5 Sunday. Here’s WCAX with a look ahead—and behind.
At Colby-Sawyer, an exhibition opening for Joseph Csatari: Painter of the American Spirit. Csatari “was a painter and illustrator in the tradition of Norman Rockwell, who was Csatari’s friend,” Mary McLaughlin writes in a press release about the exhibit. “The posthumous exhibit, curated by his children, Jeff, Wendy and Joe, explores Csatari’s art and life, featuring paintings and drawings from the Csatari family collection.” Lots more history and painting photos at the link. 4-6 pm in the Davidow Fine Art Gallery, exhibition runs until early December.
Wild Night Out at VINS. They’re taking on the sex lives of animals—or as VINS puts it, “We're welcoming author and illustrator Perrin Roosevelt Ireland for a book talk and presentation based on her new brilliant, punchy, illustrated graphic non-fiction book, Poking the Squid — a joyful, science-backed romp through how the other 99.99% of species get it on.” A ticket gets you dinner from Trail Break’s taco trailer, plus a drink. 5:30 pm, 21+ only.
In Woodstock, the premiere of The Cost of Control: Tick Spraying and Backyard Diversity. The VT Center for Ecostudies and Sustainable Woodstock screen the new short documentary that explores a growing dilemma: How to protect ourselves and our families from ticks without harming the other life that shares our backyards? Followed by a Q&A with VCE ecologists Jason Hill and Amber Jones. 5:30 pm in the Woodstock Town Hall Theatre.
Interplay Jazz Jam Session at the Norman Williams Public Library in Woodstock. The mezzanine’s got great acoustics and a baby grand, and the session’s open to musicians and listeners alike. Instrumentalists start up at 6 pm, singers welcome to join in at 7. More details at the link.
At Feast & Field in Barnard, Pride Night with Bemya & DJ kellarella. Things get going with Montpelier-based vocalist and live looper Bemya Nymh, who performs “original music both written & improvised.” Then DJ kell arbor, who runs the QDP at Babe’s Bar, takes over for a dance party under the stars. Gates and food at 5:30, music starts up at 6. And one note: This is the second-to-last Feast & Field for the season, but Fable Farm’s indoor Rumney Sessions will be starting up soon enough.
Storytelling Circle at JAM. The informal bimonthly event, open to all, takes on “Shortcuts.” 6 pm.
The Etna Library hosts “Legends & Truths of New England's Wolves.” Writer and naturalist Susie Spikol talks about how New England’s wolves survived, what forces led to its extinction in the region, and “how the stories and myths we tell about this creature continue to influence our perception of it today.” 6:30 pm in Trumbull Hall.
Telluride at Dartmouth screens Elsinore. Andrew Scott plays the actor Ian Charleson, famous for his role in Chariots of Fire, who in 1989 got the chance of a lifetime when the part of Hamlet at London's National Theatre suddenly opened up. “The double bind: he has AIDS, still a publicly taboo topic,” the Hop writes. With Olivia Colman and Billie Piper. 7 pm in Spaulding.
The World Ballet Company with Swan Lake at Lebanon Opera House. “Featuring a cast of 50 international dancers, over 150 radiant hand-sewn costumes, and stunning hand-crafted sets”—plus, of course, Tchaikovsky’s unforgettable score. 7 pm, and there are still tickets left, but not a lot.
High Horse at the Flying Goose in New London. A Boston-based progressive acoustic string band “blending Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Celtic influences with the energy of alternative rock.” 7:30 pm, and you’ll need to call (603) 526-6899 for reservations.
And anytime, JAM’s got these highlights of the week to check out: The latest episode of “Take Flight,” Mike Cannon’s ongoing documentary series on the Lebanon High School students building an RV-12iS airplane; Liora Alschuler, host of “Ordinary Jews. Talking.” talks to Josh Neirman, raised in the Upper Valley, who is currently working with young people in the US and Israel struggling to find community; and classically-trained clarinetist and mezzo-soprano Evelynn Ellis performs 10 songs from Broadway plays, beloved movies, or just songs she loves with friends Carole and Neal Cronce in WRJ’s Lyman Point Park.
And for today...
Earlier this summer, Abigail Rose and Weston Hunter, indie singer-songwriters, went viral with an Instagram post of them rehearsing this song, “Betty’s in the Band” before a show in Nashville. “We got 30 people at the show. 150k at the rehearsal,” Hunter later posted. That was before they’d even recorded the song. Then this went up…
See you tomorrow.
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