GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Cloudy and calm... until things get interesting. For the bulk of the day, we're looking at ho-hum weather: mostly cloudy, temps reaching the mid 30s, breezes shifting to come from the southeast. But! There's a storm system coming our way from the Great Lakes, a cold front riding along with it, and a warm front coming up with that southeastern air. The result will be heavy, wet snow—looks like 3-7 inches—starting late in the day or in the evening, changing to all rain overnight. The wind forecasts are something: gusts could reach hurricane strength on the western slopes of the Greens, somewhat less over on the NH coast and over in the Whites, merely strong around here. The long and short: Prep for a tricky evening commute, sharp river rises overnight, possible flooding tomorrow, roadway ponding, and power outages.Here's what the National Weather Service offices have to say:
Just a memory... But still, a cool one. You may remember that just before Christmas, pianist Elizabeth Borowsky, her family, and a variety of Upper Valley musicians put on a concert. Outside the First Congregational Church of Lebanon, where it took place, ice sculptor Tony Perham set up shop, carving a work for the enjoyment of concert-goers and passers-by. It's gone now, of course, a victim of time and warm temps, but here are Elizabeth Borowsky's photos of the sculpture and its evolution.For 36 years, Penny Yanick has delivered the Valley News night in and night out. Now she's looking to retire. And intrepid Daybreak freelancer Matt Golec went along for the way-too-early-a.m. ride as she plied her route one recent morning in Lebanon and Hanover. Yanick, who's turning 68 this year, started in 1987, with three young kids at home. "I didn’t have to pay for a babysitter because the kids could ride with me," she tells Matt. Now, eight Subarus, countless brake jobs, and something over 5 million newspapers later, she's eyeing the end. Matt profiles her, the job, and the changes she's seen.Hanover gets a new eatery. And Main Street finally gets a to fill a window that's been vacant ever since the Canoe Club closed in 2018. Yesterday at noon, The Works, the Keene-based "fast casual" chain that launched its first Upper Valley outlet last summer at DHMC, opened its doors. The biggest challenge, writes the company's Caitlin Staffanson, "revolved around the complexities associated with renovating a century-old building for our café infrastructure." The chain, which now has 11 outlets, grew out of The Bagel Works, founded by UVM grad Richard French in Manchester, VT, in 1988.SPONSORED: Winter's here, and you can make a true difference! At Hearts You Hold, the Upper Valley-based nonprofit that supports immigrants, migrants, and refugees by taking the time to ask them what they need, we've been flooded with requests for winter clothing and gear. At the burgundy link above or here, you'll find our redesigned, easy-to-use website and requests from farmworkers in Orange and Grafton counties—as well as elsewhere—who need jackets, boots, shoes, and other items to keep them warm while they keep farms running through winter. Sponsored by Hearts You Hold.So... that bear near the chairlift atop Cannon Mountain... Sorry, no pic of the actual bear. But in this week's "This Week in the Woods", Northern Woodlands' Elise Tillinghast posts Meghan McCarthy McPhaul's photo of a "hefty" bear track in the snow two weeks ago. "Despite popular depictions, bears don’t all pull up the covers and go to bed at the same time," Elise writes: Pregnant females tend to go first, young males last. Also out there this second week of January: tree sparrows and paper birch seeds atop the snow.And, of course, porcupine dens. Which you can sometimes find because of the scat accumulating at the entry of a rock or log den, or at the base of a tree, writes Mary Holland in her latest Naturally Curious post. Porcupines often reuse dens year after year, she notes, and if a porcupine's taken up residence in one, you might see patches of bark chewed off near the entrance—"One can only surmise that this is perhaps a visual signal to other porcupines and tree-dwelling creatures that the tree is currently claimed."SPONSORED: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) Clinical Research Study at Woodstock Research Center. The study is a phase 2/3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate an investigational drug in adults diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) who are currently depressed and have used an antidepressant medication without sufficient improvement in their depression symptoms. The investigational drug is an oral medication taken daily along with an approved antidepressant treatment for 14 weeks. For additional details, email [email protected] or hit the burgundy link. Sponsored by Woodstock Research Center.Newbury VT responds to state supreme court by suggesting it "misapprehended both the facts and the law." That's the wording in a brief just filed by the town and the local group Concerned4Newbury asking to reargue their case before the court, after justices sided 4-1 in December with the state in its bid to place a secure facility in town for "justice-involved" youth. In the brief, writes VTDigger's Alan J. Keays, the town argues that that decision "paves the way for DCF to construct similar high-security facilities throughout Vermont.” Motions like Newbury's, Keays notes, "are rarely granted."VT's proposed ruling on wake boats would still allow them on Lake Fairlee. Despite vociferous public comment that the state's Agency of Natural Resources is being too lenient by allowing the boats—which are designed to create big waves for waterskiers and boarders to ride—within 500 feet of a lake's shoreline, the agency is sticking to its plans. In Sidenote, Li Shen details the rule-making state of play and what it might mean, and offers up a map of Lake Fairlee showing where the boats could still operate if nothing changes.Bomb threats in WRJ, W. Leb "appear connected" to Russian server. The VN's Patrick Adrian provides further details on the threats that were emailed Saturday to Northern Stage (twice), Planned Parenthood, the Target in West Leb, and four individuals—three of them Hartford residents. The first Northern Stage email forced the evacuation of the Barrette Center, ending a drag story hour fundraiser taking place there; after a second one came in ahead of a follow-on drag and burlesque show in the evening, police advised it would be okay to go ahead, as the theater had been searched and locked all afternoon.NH AG sends "cease and desist" letter to the Democratic National Committee. The letter, writes Ethan DeWitt in NH Bulletin, takes issue with the DNC's assertion that the Jan. 23 Democratic primary will be "meaningless", since the national party keeps insisting that South Carolina is going first. “Falsely telling New Hampshire voters that a New Hampshire election is ‘meaningless’ violates New Hampshire voter suppression laws,” the letter contends. It was sent just hours after 70 NH Republicans, led by House Speaker Sherm Packard, asked the office to investigate the issue.Arlo makes it out of the well. Arlo's a German Shepherd who lives in Kingston, NH, and during Sunday's snowstorm, a plow driver knocked the cover off his home's well; Arlo fell 20 feet down, winding up in two feet of water. Firefighters from Kingston and neighboring Plaistow first tried to reach him using a rope, but that effort failed. So a Kingston firefighter was lowered into the hole and was able to bring Arlo out. "Below grade confined space rescues can be extremely dangerous," the Plaistow FD notes on its Facebook page. "Arlo is home and recovering" after a trip to the vet's (scroll to comment to see photo).It's not just anecdotal: Both NH and VT are seeing Covid jumps.
As David Brooks notes on his Granite Geek blog, not since February of 2022 has NH had so many people hospitalized with confirmed cases of Covid. The jump over the end of the year alone has been striking, according to NH Hospital Association data: from 129 on Dec. 29 to 173 last Thursday. Next report in a few days.
Similarly, Erin Petenko reported in VTDigger last week, VT reported its highest number since January of 2023—with 56 hospitalizations—though it still describes hospital levels as "low" overall. Reported PCR tests also came in at their highest level since last February.
That's Charles Mraz, who co-owns Champlain Valley Apiaries, talking to WCAX's Sophia Thomas about why some Vermont beekeepers are raising a fuss about a new Agency of Agriculture report that finds the state's beekeeping industry in healthy shape. It notes that colony numbers are at an all-time high: "Vermont beekeepers have learned to effectively manage colony stressors," it reports. Beekeepers take issue, arguing that the report measures both migratory and year-round colonies and underplays their struggles.
Several winters, actually. Jamie Scott, a visual effects artist, spent five years filming nature for
Winter
. Using time-lapse photography pulled from many cameras and several drones, he traces the stillness and constant motion of the season. Boughs weighed down, drifts rising up, all set to a musical score by composer Jim Perkins. Scott filmed in NY State and Montreal in the cold months; challenges included keeping batteries warm and lenses clear. The film is four minutes of artistry and lyricism, a reminder of why we love the season.
tidy up your mess with such resolve that you'll be embarrassed at your own sloth. In Wales, retired postman Rodney Holbrook was—let’s just say it—none too fastidious in clearing up the workbench in his shed at the end of the day. Yet when morning came, he'd find it done. He set up a night-vision camera and waited patiently. Seems a certain mouse believed that everything has a place, and that place is a tray on the workbench, into which the little guy put the clothespins, caps, plastic lids, and rods Holbrook had left scattered about. Video thanks to
The Guardian
.
The Tuesday Vordle. At last! With a word from yesterday's Daybreak.Daybreak doesn't get to exist without your support. Help it keep going by hitting the maroon button:
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There's that Daybreak jigsaw puzzle, 252 or 520 pieces, just in time for these long nights by the fire. Plus, of course, fleece vests, hoodies, sweatshirts, even a throw blanket. And hats, mugs, and—once you work up a puzzle-piece sweat—tees. Check it all out at the link!
At 7 this evening, Still North Books & Bar hosts novelist Janice Obuchowski, reading from and talking with writer Peter Orner about her 2022 debut collection, The Woods, whose stories take place in a small VT college town (she lives in Middlebury) and its surroundings—and touch on family, suppressed tension, spookiness, and the deep variety of personalities that make up the inhabitants of a place.
This evening at 8, the Hop presents guitarist JIJI and violinist Danbi Um at the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College. Um is a Menuhin International Violin Competition silver medalist who performs internationally both solo and in chamber groups; JIJI plays both acoustic and electric guitar, and, like the two of them together, ranges widely. They'll be performing works by Corelli, Paganini, Piazzolla, Errol Garner, and others.
And the Tuesday poem.
It can happen anywhere,anytime, even finding this sleeve of iceworn by a branch all morning, now fallenon a bed of snow. You can choose to pause,pick it up, hold the cold thing in your handor not. Few tell us that wonder and aweare decisions we make daily, hourly,minute by minute in the tiny officesof the heart—tilting the head to look upat every tree turned into a chandelierby light striking ice.
—From
by
.
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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