Daybreak Tuesday, 8/25/26

Mostly sunny, chance of showers. It’ll be a lot like yesterday: more sun than clouds, a chance of isolated showers all day, highs in the mid 70s. High pressure’s headed this way, but just for tomorrow. Lows tonight in the low 50s.

That is one big (and very hungry) caterpillar! The Upper Valley Trails Alliance’s high school Trail Corps crew was at the Chaffee Wildlife Sanctuary in Lyme recently when it encountered a cecropia moth caterpillar—right on the trail it was working on. “It is pretty rare to see one, so it was a special surprise for all of us,” writes UVTA’s Anna Cloutier—who sends along a photo with her hand included for size. “They all spent the day checking on it and carefully working around it as it ate every leaf off its branch.”

“Lydia squeezes paint out of tubes and we squeeze words out of imagination.” This week in Lost Woods, DB Johnson (via Henry and Wally) dives into the differences between artists and writers. Lydia, though, is having none of it.

In WRJ, a neutron bomb for cars. At least, that’s what things looked like around noon yesterday after the new parking meter policy went into effect in the morning, says Eric Francis. “Even though business was still brisk at the Cappadocia Cafe (the Tuckerbox is closed Mondays) and indoors in other locations downtown, the lack of at least two-thirds of the cars you would expect to see on a normal day created an eerie vibe,” Eric writes. “It does give rather a stark insight into just how many parking spaces must have been occupied by employees of downtown businesses.” Photo at the burgundy link, and here’s S. Main Street at noon.

Woodstock school officials make their case for hiring former Claremont schools business administrator. As Molly Hughes writes in the Valley News, Mary Henry left SAU 6 “in the middle of a $5 million budget crisis” for which lots of people in the Claremont area—including an internal SAU “findings of fact” letter that was leaked to the public—consider her partially responsible. Henry is now the Woodstock-area schools’ director of finance: She is “one of the finest professionals” the district “has ever had the pleasure to hire,” school board chair Keri Bristow tells Hughes. Henry says she’s a scapegoat for Claremont’s problems before her tenure; Bristow contends there’s a “poisonous attempt” afoot to ruin Henry’s career. Hughes wades in.

Norwich Farmers Market wants to get a bead on why people stay away. If you’ve been to the market on a sunny Saturday, you know how crowded it gets—and how tough it can be to find a parking spot. Some people avoid the market because they consider prices to be too high, or have mobility concerns, or face other issues. So as the market preps for an eventual move across the road, it’s got a two-minute survey out trying to gauge who does and does not visit the market and why or why not. It’s aimed at regulars, occasional visitors, and I-wouldn’t-set-foot-there refrainers alike. At the link.

SPONSORED: From Kindergarten to Grade 12: Spark Wonder at the Hood Museum. Introduce your students to original artworks from across the globe—right in their backyard at the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth! Our free, customized tours use a collection of 74,000+ objects to build critical thinking skills and spark conversations across every curricular area. Explore more on our website—and join our teacher newsletter to stay in the loop on new exhibitions, free programs, and resources. Sponsored by the Hood Museum of Art.

Listservs’ future still in limbo. With a group of former and current listserv moderators working to find an alternative to a shutdown, Vital Communities’ Ellen Hender late yesterday posted, “We are open to this idea and will continue to host the town-based listservs to allow time for the group to organize. It is important to us that any process of sharing listserv subscriber data be handled responsibly and legally. We are seeking legal counsel to determine what this would need to entail.” The alternative Vital Communities had been working with, Front Porch Forum, initially saw thousands of Upper Valley signups, but they’ve slowed in the face of Vital Communities’ downshift.

“I’m gonna be that 80-year-old guy who wheels in here to the store in his 75-year-old truck…” You may have followed the saga of Lyme’s Jed Smith back when Jim Kenyon was writing about it in the VN: The town wants Smith to clean up two properties, and voters approved spending $150K for the job (then rejected another $100K proposal). Now, Madison Wuu, a rising Dartmouth junior, and two other students have created a documentary telling the story from Smith’s point of view. In it, Smith talks about why he collects and fixes old trucks and why he considers what the town intends to be “theft”. With plenty footage of his yards, his trucks, and his take on it all.

SPONSORED: Register now for fall classes and ensembles at Upper Valley Music Center! There’s something for students of all ages and experience levels: whether you’re a total beginner, resuming an old hobby, or looking for new musical friends. Programs include singing, fiddle, percussion, guitar and jazz; youth and adult chorus and orchestra; Music Together for little ones; and much, much more! Tuition assistance is available. Check it all out at the burgundy link or here. Sponsored by Upper Valley Music Center.

Supper in Randolph: “These people are doing some really special work.” You may remember the Herald’s story back in June about Amber and Ben Rapson’s Supper-Picker-Upper Club: a semi-regular takeout business the couple runs out of their home—with regular help from Yankee Bookshop co-owner Kari Meutsch. Now, in the VN, Marion Umpleby profiles the effort: the food (July’s was tapas-themed; coming on Friday, a Mexican-Japanese fusion theme); the work (“The days leading up to the pickup are a blur of grocery store runs and food prep”); and the appreciation—that lead quote is from Braintree’s Paulette Staats. “There’s no takeout in Braintree,” she says.

Had alpha-gal? You’ll want to know about this. Researchers at Geisel and DH have just published a study they led suggesting that alpha-gal syndrome—the tick-borne disease that can create a long-lasting allergy to meat and animal byproducts—”may complicate certain patients' ability to safely receive a blood plasma or platelet transfusion,” DH announced yesterday. The researchers had noticed an increase in patients with type O blood suffering severe allergic reactions after receiving platelets or plasma from type B or AB donors. The international study—40 sites in five countries—has already led DHMC to stop giving transfusions of B or AB platelets to O patients.

9/11 lighting plan for Mt. Washington moves ahead. The “Honor Summit”—which would create twin beams of light shining almost 35,000 feet into the sky from an array of 18 lamps to honor those who lost their lives in the 2001 Twin Towers attacks—is lining up needed okays on the way to its Sept. 9-12 run. The state has agreed to a special use permit, reports the Globe’s Steven Porter (no paywall). The FAA has no objections (as long as organizers follow safety protocols), and organizers are working with NH Audubon (along with state officials and Cornell researchers to institute protocols to protect migrating birds. The display could be visible from 135 miles away.

Querying candidates for state office through a science lens. As David Brooks writes in the Monitor, candidates get asked to fill out lots of questionnaires, but the one created by the young scientist members of the Scientist Network for Advancing Policy is a little different. In state-specific questions, it asks about candidates’ views: In VT, on land-based resources, AI, flooding and reduced snowpack, and more; in NH, about those issues and vaccines. Jessa Burling, a brain science grad student at Dartmouth, coordinates the VT & NH questions (19 states in all are involved). “To cause the most change, the political world is a great way to do that,” she tells Brooks.

In contest for VT House Speaker, it sure looks like Lori Houghton will come out on top. Even Woodstock Rep. Charlie Kimbell, who’s announced his candidacy and intends to stay in the race, says the Essex Junction Democrat “is the most likely to win the race and the speakership,” reports VT Public’s Peter Hirschfeld. If she wins, Houghton, the current House majority leader, would replace Democrat Jill Krowinski, who isn’t seeking re-election. Houghton is a fiscal moderate and the consensus, Hirschfeld reports, is that she’s got the skills it’ll take to bring together a Democratic caucus divided over issues like affordability and property tax relief. Kimbell says he wants to see what happens in November before deciding his next move.

“Who hasn’t considered murdering a co-worker from time to time?” Well sure, but in space? Let’s say that, in the age of space travel for all, someone did get bumped off in orbit. That would require all new “astroforensics,” because the investigative practices we use on Earth just won’t work, writes Dr. Claire Asher in BBC Science Focus. There’s no gravity in space, blood spatters and gunshot residue behave differently, DNA evidence degrades faster, and fingerprinting is tricky. Researchers suggest we get our extraterrestrial “Starsky and Hutch” game on, because “it’s not unreasonable to hypothesize that we’ll be a violent species out among the stars.”

The Tuesday Crossword. A little “mini” from Laura Braunstein to get your brain started for the day.

Today's Wordbreak. With a word from yesterday’s Daybreak.

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HEADS UP
Still Hill in Strafford. The central VT bluegrass band of Rob Lees (guitar and vocals), Jen Freise (fiddle and vocals), and Cody Williams (mandolin and vocals) “plays a unique blend of progressive bluegrass dipped in folk, Americana, and old time roots music,” tonight’s Strafford Town House Summer Music Series organizers write. 6 pm on the Strafford Common.

In Hartford, “Skills for Disagreeing Better.” A workshop organized by the civic discourse group Braver Angels: “We can learn to disagree better in polarized times, which means accurately seeing where we differ and where we share common ground,” they write. 6 pm in Hartford Town Hall, with pizza beforehand at 5:30. Tix are free but they won’t turn down a donation.

The Conniption Fits on the Fairlee Common. The “road-tested, hard-working” band of guitarist Stevens Blanchard, bassist Jamie Hosley, and drummer Titien Tolbert bring their covers of ‘80s, ‘90s, and contemporary songs to the common at 6:30 pm. In Fairlee Town Hall if it rains.

Kaitlin Butts at the Lake Morey Resort. The Averys, who run the resort, are bringing their epic concert summer to a close this week with two concerts. Tonight, it’s rising Country star and Tulsa, OK native Kaitlin Butts, who toiled in the grassroots vineyards before going viral with her song You Ain’t Gotta Die (to be Dead to Me), toured with Country star Lainey Wilson, signed a major record deal, and is now touring the US before heading off to Australia in October. Gates/food at 6 pm, music at 7 pm.

At the Norwich Bookstore, Tim Disney and Noah Mauchly talk about The A.R.C. Disney’s an LA-based artist and filmmaker (and, yes, grand-nephew of Walt, who put in time at Disney Studios). In his debut graphic novel, he takes aim at humans’ penchant for lying—in this world, a virus kills people who lie. He’ll be talking with VT filmmaker and JAM education coordinator Noah Mauchly. 7 pm.

The Tuesday Poem.

Sometimes my mind goes back to certain things.
Like everyone’s.
Like to the woman who asked me
What keeps you awake at night?
She wanted a writerly, magical answer.
A black forest, a shining maid walking through it.
The woman—she was a guest, a visiting artist.
I was a guest to her visitingness: polite guest
at an affable table.
My neck, I said, meaning pain
of the basest physical kind. Meaning also
sadness, and worry—
though I didn’t say so.
I’d done enough, I’d said the neck thing
as if I were snapping a chicken for supper.
The woman smiled through it, a pro.
Oh, I’m sorry, she said, pushing the shining maid
into a closet and shutting the door in a hushed
and magical way.
I wanted to bind her with rope.
I wanted to watch her struggle, if just for a minute.
The mind goes back, the heart goes with it, the forest
whirls all around. Instead
I was kind to her husband, whose life
had had something to do with flight.
He was quiet, the husband. Like someone
whose part in the world was done.
He seemed to expect
no one.
He was the husband.
He was like light on the leaves of night.

— “Black Forest” by Laura Newbern.

See you tomorrow.

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Written and published by Rob Gurwitt      Poetry editor: Michael Lipson    Associate Editors: Jonea Gurwitt, Sam Gurwitt

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