Daybreak Tuesday 9/22/20

GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!

Getting warmer... We're still in a stretch of high pressure, which means that although Hurricane Teddy is moving northward out there beyond the coast, what we'll see of it is mostly winds picking up this afternoon, with gusts up toward 17 or 18 mph. There will also be some western smoke high up this afternoon, turning the skies "milky," the weather folks say. All that aside, mostly clear skies, temps hitting the mid-60s, and down to 50 or the higher 40s tonight.No, that's not Oliver Hardy... It's a Wilson's Warbler, a not-often-seen yellow bird with a, well, Ollie-esque black cap. Jim Block got a photo when he was out on Campbell Flat in Norwich last week. Also, an ovenbird, some vireos, a majestic immature hawk (opinions vary on the species), an olive-sided flycatcher, and other evidence that there's a whole lot of avian life out there.And 30 seconds of sunrise... Yesterday morning over Prospect Hill in Plainfield, William Daugherty's drone rising to reveal the hills and valleys beyond, stretching off to the eastern horizon.Dartmouth's endowment hits $6 billion. Yes, in case you were wondering, that's a record. And as the VN's John Gregg notes, Dartmouth's news release announcing the milestone comes as the college has started to lay off or furlough employees in the face of a projected $83 million shortfall. In its press release, the college reports that 237 first-year students, about 22 percent of the class, are receiving aid that covers all of their tuition.Two Kendal staff test positive. They were among a group of 250 staff tested last week, and as a result the Hanover retirement community has closed common areas, is delivering meals to residents, and is restricting access to its campus, the VN reports.Did you know that it can take five to seven years from the time you sow ramps to when you can first harvest them? It's the fourth week of September out there in the woods, and Northern Woodlands' Elise Tillinghast points out dried ramp heads with their berries are "uncommonly pretty"—and best left alone, given how hard it is for the plants to get established. There are plenty of asters out there, and big-tooth aspen, and red fly agaric mushrooms, and tachinid flies, about whose young the less said before breakfast the better.There used to be over 100 Civil War vets buried in Lebanon's cemeteries who had no military recognition. That was until Fran Hanchett learned about them and raised the funds to buy military stones for their graves. Now only 21 are left. In her latest Artful post, Susan Apel talks to Hanchett, who's the city's new (and first female) official historian. Susan also heads to the tiny Houghton Cemetery in Windsor, with no grave newer than 1907."Does nobody else see this horde of white-sheeted people running into this room? Like, is no one else freaking out right now?" That's Randolph's Brittney Malik, recalling the day a couple dozen sport-team captains charged into the high school gym dressed as the Galloping Ghost, the high school's mascot. Now a former student, she and several other students of color feature in Part 2 of the Southern Poverty Law Center's podcast about the controversy at RUHS over flying the Black Lives Matter flag and the racist overtones some people see in the mascot. It's a complex story.

Could sleep problems not just make the unemployed less healthy, but get in the way of finding work? That's the question raised by a new study by Dartmouth economist David (Danny) Blanchflower and a colleague, who looked at millions of survey responses over 13 years to find that people who are unemployed often get less sleep or, in some cases, more sleep than is healthy. This is a problem, they write, because disrupted sleep "is highly detrimental to an individual's health, wellbeing and life prospects." (Thanks, MT!)Flu clinics starting up. DHMC, the Public Health Council of the Upper Valley, Mt. Ascutney Hospital, the Ottauquechee Health Center, and the Lake Sunapee Region VNA will all be holding them. The VN has a guide.And absentee ballots go out. By truck to town and city clerks in NH, and from there to be distributed to voters who want them. And by mail to active, registered voters in VT (if you don't get yours by Oct. 7, get in touch with your town clerk). A page of election resources coming to Daybreak early next week.Boating season "is essentially over. The risk to reward is not worth it.” That's a marine construction guy over by Lake Winnepesaukee, echoing advice from the NH Marine Patrol that it's time to pull your boats. Lake levels are dropping, writes the Laconia Sun's Adam Drapcho. "Hiring a crane and a barge to retrieve [a] boat would come with a staggering bill, and less expensive alternatives–such as dragging the boat to deeper water–could result in a similarly expensive hull damage."NH's child advocacy office expands its reach. Until recently, the Office of the Child Advocate served an independent watchdog role for the state's Division of Children, Youth and Families. Thanks to a new law, however, its jurisdiction now stretches to include oversight of any agency or organization that works with the state providing services to children. It means the office can now work on services and prevention that might keep abuse at bay, which is when DCYF gets involved.Hard-to-extinguish Killington forest fire likely caused by unattended campfire. The fire, discovered Friday evening, has been burning mostly underground on Deer Leap Mountain, across Route 4 from Pico. It's under control and has consumed only about a third of an acre, reports VTDigger's Emma Cotton, but because it's feeding on dry material and trees' root systems it's been hard to put out; the US Forest Service has taken command. It was discovered by a local firefighter, whose solo early work kept it from spreading into the forest canopy.So, if you're looking for a handy public restroom in Montpelier... 7D Brand Studio, which is Seven Days' marketing-for-hire shop, has a new post on things to do in and around the VT state capital. It's promotional, but in a Vermonty, Seven Days sort of way, with plenty of good advice. A section on the state history museum (with a link to its driving or walking tours). Where to explore, eat, drink, mountain bike, walk, and shop. Where to park (easier than it used to be). And yep: where to pee. Need to stretch your horizons? Here's what you do: Go get a bunch of local postcards and some stamps to send them internationally. Then head to Postcrossing, which matches senders and receivers from all over the world. You sign up, get an address, send a card off, and wait for one to arrive from a member in Brunei or Bulgaria or Ghana or... wait! There's one member in Antarctica! You don't suppose there are McMurdo or Great Wall Station postcards for sale, do you? A twist—or really, many twists and turns—on long-exposure photos. There's this guy, Luke Rasmussen, who lives in Nevada and likes to photograph things and go rock climbing. He's taken to doing both at once, attaching LED lights to himself and then scaling rock formations at night—most recently, Fisher Towers near Moab, Utah—as his camera sits there taking one long exposure. The results are... oh, you can decide for yourself. 

And the numbers...

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I go down to the shore in the morningand depending on the hour the wavesare rolling in or moving out,and I say, oh, I am miserable,what shall—what should I do? And the sea saysin its lovely voice:Excuse me, I have work to do.

-- "I Go Down to the Shore" by Mary Oliver

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