Daybreak Tuesday 2/20/24

GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!

Sun again. A bit warmer, too. There's high pressure moving in and low pressure moving out, and the timing will affect temps, but right now it looks like we're in for another brilliant day, with highs getting into the lower 30s. Light winds, mostly clear skies tonight with lows either side of the 10-degree mark.It's not the top of the world, but it's good enough for a view. Sunday, a hardy group of hikers brought together by Bradford Rec's Dayhike & Dine outings climbed Mt. Cardigan. The winds were stiff enough that Vershire's Mark Harvey only managed to get a few shots with his gloves off—but the views were pretty darn great.At the Polka Dot diner, Mary Shatney "made sure that if someone was hungry, she was going to feed them." Shatney died in January after a long working life in food, and in the Valley News, Alex Hanson tells stories and traces her career, first in Windsor and then at the Polka Dot in WRJ, starting in the early '60s as a server and then as its owner from the early '80s until 2015; Phnom Penh Sandwich Station is there now. Shatney served WRJ in its heyday, when the diner needed two shifts to feed workers, visitors, and others from 5:30 am until midnight, but the Polka Dot never lost her personal touch. “It wasn’t like going to work. It was like going to visit," says one of her daughters.Union activity builds around the Upper Valley. Frances Mize's survey begins with organizing over the past few years on the Dartmouth campus, from the undergrad Student Worker Collective to grad students and librarians to the effort by members of the men's basketball team to organize. But Mize also checks in with the Upper Valley Tenants Union and the nurses' union at Springfield Hospital—"Our ability to care for patients has improved," the union president, an ER nurse, tells her—and the teachers' union in the Rivendell school district, which is dealing with recent turmoil in school leadership.SPONSORED: Learn about becoming a part of Advance Transit's dedicated team at our Driver Information Session! Stop by AT's Operations Center on Billings Farm Road in WRJ on Saturday, March 9 from 8-10 am. You'll learn about our mission and the perks of being part of our team, from competitive pay to comprehensive benefits. Hear from current employees about AT's rewarding careers and find out about our Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) training program; you can even submit an application on-site! Learn more here or at the burgundy link. Sponsored by Advance Transit.Tree excavators. Those would be pileated woodpeckers, and if you've ever come across a dead or dying tree with a carpet of wood chips at its base, you know they've been at work. In this week's "This Week in the Woods", Northern Woodlands' Elise Tillinghast shows evidence of their toils: "You can see the chisel marks left by the bird’s bill, and also a hint at what was on the menu: the dark spot about three-fourths up the excavation is the exposed side of an insect larval gallery," she writes. Also at work under the bark: brown creepers.10 hours, 45 minutes. That's how many hours of daylight we can expect in these parts today, according to the US Naval Observatory. We crossed the 10-hour line back in early February, and as the VT Center for Ecostudies writes in its Field Guide to February, "You can sense it when you head out in the morning... at least the sound of spring is in the air." Nathaniel Sharp notes how red-winged blackbirds, brown-headed cowbirds, and turkey vultures are "harbingers of the changing seasons"; Kent McFarland traces how butterflies over-winter; Rachel McKimmy looks at how lack of snow cover affects mammals; and Spencer Hardy checks in on snow scorpionflies.SPONSORED: Curious about faith? Join a series of group conversations at the Church of Etna & Hanover Center that freely explore the Christian faith in an open, friendly environment. There’s a meal, an engaging video, and then everyone is invited to share their own thoughts in a safe, judgement-free space. You’re invited, no matter your background or beliefs. It's free and there's no pressure to come back.

 Sundays at 6:30pm starting February 25. For more info and to register go to the burgundy link or here. Sponsored by the Church of Etna & Hanover Center.In Hartford, three selectboard seats, six candidates. Four of those candidates, writes the VN's Patrick Adrian, are competing for two seats with two-year terms: incumbent board member Rocket, Quechee attorney and former town moderator and state rep Sue Buckholz, Earthshare Construction's Brandon Smith, and part-time VT Daily Chronicle journalist Aaron Warner. Each cites a different focus, from broadening the town's tax base for Rocket to restoring teamwork to the board for Buckholz, to housing for Smith, and public safety and sticking to town business for Warner. Meanwhile, retired sea captain Patrick Danaher and VA researcher Ida Griesemer face off for a 3-year seat.At Dartmouth, eight students declare hunger strike. The move, writes Frances Mize in the VN, is an attempt to pressure the college administration on the Israel-Hamas war, and includes a demand that the college drop charges against two student protesters arrested last fall, as well as that it take a more forceful stance on Palestinians and the war. In response, college spokeswoman Jana Barnello writes, “Our student life professionals are in contact with these students and continue to provide health and wellness care to make sure they are safe. The safety and well-being of all Dartmouth students is our top priority.”NH takes in $100 million from first four years of sports betting. That's according to the NH Lottery, reports Annmarie Timmins in New Hampshire Bulletin; overall, Granite State bettors have wagered $2.71 billion. The state's portion of the proceeds from its partnership with DraftKings goes into the state education fund. Meanwhile, across the river, Vermont's in its first few months of legalized sports betting; the Super Bowl brought in about $100K of revenue to the state, with the bulk of $2 million in bets being placed in-state.AM, PM... Oops. Last Friday's item on prepping for the Vermont presidential primary mixed up the time of day when all polling places will act in concert: They all close at 7 pm, but their opening times vary. At the link is an interactive map from the VT Secy of State's office that gives you the details. Just click on the little star for your town and you'll get a box with location and hours—some polls open at 7 am, others take their time. So hey, West Fairlee, you can sleep in: Polls don't open until 10 am.Maritime disjuncts. Such a great name, eh? It's the label that VT Public's Corey Dockser uses for three species of plants that are remnants from the state's glacial past: Champlain beachgrass in Alburgh; beach heather, which has been documented at seven sites around the state, though it's disappeared from three of those; and beach pea, which is common to the New England coast but not so much inland. Intriguingly, says Dockser, all three "require not just sand but shifting sands" to out-compete other species. Place your cursor in the center of the top box and scroll to see a graphic on 30,000 years of change.It's been over a century since women first jumped off Brattleboro's Harris Hill. They're still seeking equality. "Women have competed at Harris Hill throughout its 102-year history—only to find that leaping off a launchpad 30 stories high at speeds of 60 mph [is] the least of their challenges," writes VTDigger's Kevin O'Connor. He traces the ski jump's role—it's one of only six in the country with a 90-meter hill—in nurturing talent, including the jumping career of W. Fairlee's Tara Geraghty-Moats, charts battles women have faced in the sport, and talks to young jumpers, including Leb's Paisely Rancourt.In VT, some state agencies are using public records law "as a shield to deny reporters timely access to what should be readily available public information." That's VTDigger senior editor Diane Derby in a new "letter from the editor" commenting on agencies' use of the law to demand that reporters file formal requests rather than just answering a question. Derby was a reporter in the state before working for Sens. Jim Jeffords and Patrick Leahy, and since returning to journalism she's been struck by how much informality has been lost. Using examples, she explains why it matters to news consumers.Oh, that heart-pounding Randolph, VT! Don't get me wrong. It's a great town with a whole lot to recommend quality time there. But as you know, Daybreak's a sucker for slightly off-kilter travel articles involving the region, so it was hard not to notice when the travel site The Travel ranked it #1 on its "bucket list towns to explore by Amtrak", a list that includes Harper's Ferry, WV, Truckee, CA, and Whitefish, MT. Why? Partly it's the ride up via the Vermonter. Partly it's the Chandler and the shoutout to local cuisine. And partly... it's the "adrenaline-pumping adventures" the town offers. Sadly, no details.The Tuesday Vordle. With a word from yesterday's Daybreak.

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The Tuesday poem

Reading an Anthology of Chinese Poems of the Sung Dynasty, I pause to Admire the Length and Clarity of their Titles

It seems these poets have nothingup their ample sleevesthey turn over so many cards so early,telling us before the first linewhether it is wet or dry,night or day, the season the man is standing in,even how much he has had to drink.Maybe it is autumn and he is looking at a sparrow.Maybe it is snowing on a town with a beautiful name."Viewing Peonies at the Temple of Good Fortuneon a Cloudy Afternoon" is one of Sun Tung Po's."Dipping Water from the River and Simmering Tea"is another one, or just"On a Boat, Awake at Night."And Lu Yu takes the simple rice cake with"In a Boat on a Summer EveningI Heard the Cry of a Waterbird.It Was Very Sad and Seemed To Be SayingMy Woman Is Cruel—Moved, I Wrote This Poem."There is no iron turnstile to push against hereas with headings like "Vortex on a String,""The Horn of Neurosis," or whatever.No confusingly inscribed welcome mat to puzzle over.Instead, "I Walk Out on a Summer Morningto the Sound of Birds and a Waterfall"is a beaded curtain brushing over my shoulders.And "Ten Days of Spring Rain Have Kept Me Indoors"is a servant who shows me into the roomwhere a poet with a thin beardis sitting on a mat with a jug of winewhispering something about clouds and cold wind,about sickness and the loss of friends.How easy he has made it for me to enter here,to sit down in a corner,cross my legs like his, and listen.

—by

Billy Collins

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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