GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Partly sunny, chance of scattered showers. Lucky us! A weak cold front is draped over the area east of the Greens, bringing some possible showers and maybe a thunderstorm. Otherwise, though, we’re looking at temps in the high 70s and a mix of clouds and sun with skies getting bluer as the day wears on. Lows in the upper 50s.
Headed toward winter. Don’t be alarmed, we’re not even close yet, but there’s some seriously creative firewood stacking on Wild Hill Road in West Fairlee, from Janice Fischel.
Catching up on Lost Woods. It’s been a bit, right? So here’s an extravaganza from writer and illustrator DB Johnson: Eddie and the Do-Doo-Wops at the burgundy link; Eddie and Auk ponder mushrooms and toadstools (and folklore); and Lydia paints the pond and explains scumbling.
Upper Valley media comings and goings. Events of note at two local newspapers.
The newsroom exodus continues at the Valley News. Ten days ago, longtime arts and culture writer Alex Hanson—who began there in 1999 and served variously as staff writer, features editor, and editorial-page editor, among other positions—left the paper. This coming Friday, fellow arts and culture (and food) reporter Marion Umpleby will also be departing. The newsroom has seen one addition, after recent journalism school grad Molly Hughes joined on August 4 as a deputy editor and writer. Even so, these new departures come on top of exits earlier this year by four newsroom veterans. More on Hanson, Umpleby, and Hughes in a Daybreak story at the link.
Meanwhile, the Vermont Standard has a new managing editor, after Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author Robin Gaby Fisher took over newsroom operations from Tess Hunter, who left to pursue a book-writing career. “It’s quite unusual that a team producing a small-town newspaper gets to work with and learn from such an accomplished journalist of Robin’s caliber. There’s no doubt she can make us better,” publisher Dan Cotter said when Fisher’s hiring was announced earlier this month. Fisher and her husband, photographer and gallery owner Loren Fisher, live in Woodstock.
Lebanon attorney faces federal investigation for misappropriating escrow funds. Earlier this year, reports Alex Ebrahimi in the VN, Stephen Girdwood was suspended from practicing law in NH, VT, and the federal courts following allegations that he’d misappropriated “at least $292,507.06 of escrowed funds.” The alleged violations, Ebrahimi writes, “include misappropriating funds Girdwood was holding in escrow, knowingly failing to disclose to opposing counsel his use of escrowed funds, and criminal acts of theft and misapplication of property.” A sign on the door of his office across from Colburn Park says that his law office has ceased operations.
More on DH’s planned closure of ICU and emergency telehealth services. As you read in yesterday’s Daybreak, Dartmouth Health is moving to end the two services, which give rural hospitals access to DHMC specialists; in a statement, media relations manager Audra Burns called them “unsustainable” and said that 13 facilities in all will be affected, including six within the DH network. VTDigger’s Olivia Gieger reports that on the VT side, Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend, Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, and Mt. Ascutney Hospital all use at least one of the services.
SPONSORED: Immigrants and refugees need your generosity now more than ever. Hearts You Hold currently has over 300 requests from individuals and families trying to make a new start in this country, just waiting to be funded by caring people like you. Some are local to the Upper Valley or to VT and NH, others are in New York, Ohio, and elsewhere. You can sort the requests by state or category to find the folks you want to support. You’ll find them all—from basic household goods to basic clothing to swimming lessons to baby equipment—at the burgundy link or here. Sponsored by Hearts You Hold.
VT farmers markets are struggling to find farmers. The reason, writes VTDigger’s Grace Bertrand, “is blunt: Farmers at the markets aren’t making the money they used to… With more markets, fewer farmers and thinner returns, growers are being pushed toward community supported agriculture shares and direct-to-farm stands as options that offer steadier money and less dependence on a sunny Saturday.” That, in turn, is making life harder for smaller farmers markets. Says Norwich native Gus Griffin, who co-owns Glinnis Hill Farm in Northfield, “We’re kind of selling a luxury product, and so when the economy is in trouble, we might also struggle. Having those upfront sales, like a CSA, obviously makes your life feel a lot more secure.”
The story behind Kiss the Cow Farm. Lisa and Randy Robar have run their farm in E. Barnard—just down from Fable Farm—for the last 15 years, after moving to VT from MA “to prioritize growing their own food,” says Erica Houskeeper on her Happy Vermont podcast. They began with a single cow, Sophie. Then they added Spot to keep her company. “We lied to my parents,” Lisa says. “Yeah, we got a dog named Spot. Then my dad asked, ‘How big is Spot?’ Oh, about 800 pounds.” These days, the farm—which sells its ice cream at farmers markets, Feast & Field, and elsewhere—has a following for its intriguing flavors (think balsamic strawberry). Lots more at the link.
SPONSORED: Strength, age, and a little more wisdom. After nearly 50 years of working with people and their bodies, Cioffredi & Associates founder Billy Cioffredi has learned that experience doesn’t mean there are no more lessons to learn. In “Strength, Age, and a Little More Wisdom,” Billy reflects on his own recent experience with strength training, recovery, and the importance of adapting how we train as we age. Read his latest reflection on listening to the body—and knowing when expert guidance can make all the difference. Sponsored by Cioffredi & Associates Physical Therapy.
Rattlesnake Mountain fire contained. That wildland blaze in Rumney that fire crews spent the weekend battling is now fully contained, reports WMUR’s Mike Moses, though the teams continue to seek out hot spots that are still burning underground and within crevices along the mountain's cliff face. Chief Michael Matson of NH’s Forest Protection Bureau tells Moses that he expects some areas will smolder for days, and that the fire will likely be monitored for about a week after the last firefighters leave. Investigators are looking into its cause.
NH will bill teen hikers for rescue from Franconia Ridge. The four 18-year-olds from NJ set out Friday afternoon; just before 9 that night, NH Fish & Game was notified that they were stuck on the ridge and that one was having trouble breathing. “After speaking with the hikers, it was learned that the group did not have lights, were low on water and food, and were not properly dressed for the conditions,” Fish & Game reports. With cold temps and strong winds above 5,000 feet, volunteers from Pemi Valley Search and Rescue and a conservation officer hiked in and found them around 1 am on Mt. Lincoln. They arrived back at the trailhead Saturday morning.
USDA drops over a million rabies baits over VT, NH, and NY. In an article with plenty of photos, VN photographer Alex Driehaus reports that the program, which will drop the baited packets over rural northern areas of the three states over the course of this week, is aimed primarily at raccoons, though “other wildlife like coyotes, skunks and opossums will eat the baits.” This year, 37 rabies cases in wildlife have been reported in VT, including 15 raccoons, nine skunks, eight bats, and three foxes; two of the bats were in the Upper Valley. The hope, says USDA’s Betsy Haley, “is to eventually eliminate raccoon rabies from the United States.”
Meanwhile, loons in VT are doing so well that the state is removing loon rafts. In 2025, reports VT Public’s Abagael Giles, “volunteers counted a record 402 adults, a record number of successful nests and a record number of chicks. More of those chicks survived their first year than in any year since scientists started counting.” Moreover, naturalists are seeing more signs of loons competing for territory—usually through negotiations, but sometimes through violence. Removing nesting rafts will probably cut into overall nesting success, Giles notes; biologists plan on removing just a few a year, and to keep them in place on reservoirs, with their fluctuating water levels.
The Tuesday Crossword. Well hey, crossword puzzlers, Laura Braunstein’s puzzles are back! If you’re new to these, the Tuesday mini puzzle is a short little mental stretch. On Thursdays, the “midi” will let you forget the world for a few minutes.
Today's Wordbreak. With a word from yesterday’s Daybreak.
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HEADS UP
Sunapee’s Abbott Library hosts “Black Bear Happenings in New Hampshire.” A steward from NH Fish & Game will talk natural history, habitat needs, and how to avoid conflicts. 5 pm.
Ted Levin followed by bluegrass at Loch Lyme Lodge. The writer and naturalist will kick things off in the lodge barn from 4 to 6 pm, with copies of his book The Promise of Sunrise, along with conversation about the Upper Valley’s natural world and his life as a naturalist and Yankees fan in Red Sox territory. Starting at 5:30 pm, it’s “Bluegrass & Burgers” with music by the Well Kept Men.
Wyld Nightz Band in Fairlee. The Brattleboro-based group specializes in “dance music with exciting ensemble playing,” Fairlee Arts writes. 6:30 pm on the town common, or indoors in town hall if it rains.
The Moonlighters close out the Canaan Lions Club summer concert series. The Big Band sounds of Glenn Miller, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, and others at the gazebo on the Canaan Common, starting at 6:30 pm. Canaan United Methodist Church if it rains.
The Lake Morey Resort brings in Andy Grammer and Walk Off the Earth. Grammer, a multi-platinum singer-songwriter with an immense global following, is on his Big Stupid Heart tour. Ontario-based Walk Off the Earth, which opens for him, goes in for engaging performances of upbeat, sometimes quirky tunes. Gates and food at 6 pm, WOTE at 7, and Grammer at 8. The resort’s usual Thursday-night concert this week will feature Collective Soul.
The Tuesday Poem.
Cool rain is falling through sunshine today
and the canyon’s red walls are radiant
with the contradiction. The world
smells of dry earth mixing with sky,
a rich and generative perfume
that weaves into all that is….In the distance,
thunder. In the foreground, the swallows
are ceaseless in their swirling.
They do not try to avoid the raindrops
nor do they shun the sun.
On the inside, a feeling loops and dives,
swoops and circles back. It says,
This life is not easy. What a gift to be alive.
— From “A Surprising Wholeness” by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer.
See you tomorrow.
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