GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Washout. Oh well. A combination of warming temps (highs in the 50s), a low pressure system, and a cold front are combining to bring us what the Weather Service calls "an anomalous atmospheric river event." It looks like an initial band of rainfall will move east over the morning, followed by a lull, then more rain in the afternoon and tonight, could be heavy at times. That in turn will bring about snow melt, with some concern it'll reach into the mountains. So both VT and NH are under flood watches for streams first (along with possible roadway ponding), with rivers to follow overnight or tomorrow. Rain will continue into the night—and as it exits, it'll pull a cold front through, with accompanying winds. Temps just below freezing by daybreak tomorrow, so things could end as snow.
And here are the river forecasts. At the moment, it's looking like the Connecticut at West Leb will come close to minor flood stage tomorrow afternoon; the White in W. Hartford will fall just short of action stage (which is below minor flood stage); the Wells River will hit minor flood stage tomorrow morning, as will the Pemigewasset in both Woodstock and Plymouth, NH. Hover over the dot to find the gauge that interests you, then click on it.
A heckuva sunrise. If you were up early enough on Monday morning, you couldn't help but notice. Thanks to everyone who sent in pics -- they'll eventually go into the Daybreak Where You Are album. For now, though, here are two:
From the shoulder of Potato Hill in Thetford, looking toward the Dartmouth Skiway, Winslow, and Holt's Ledge, by Doug Miller;
And in South Washington, VT, from Patricia Swahn.
Woodstock votes in favor of water infrastructure upgrades. As you'll remember, the town voted in October to buy the Woodstock Aqueduct Co. Balloting yesterday was on two bonds: to buy the 358-acre Vondell Reservoir property, and to fund infrastructure projects aimed at boosting water pressure and replacing a pipe and a well. In a post to the listserv early this morning (no link), municipal manager Eric Duffy announced that residents backed the Vondell bond 360 to 171, and the infrastructure projects 392-157.Hanover police chief to step down at the end of the year. The decision, which Chief Charlie Dennis announced to the selectboard in mid-November, "was not a surprise," John Lippman writes in the Valley News. Dennis "never made it a secret that he hoped to 'retire' at the 10-year mark, a decision made all the simpler by a buoyant home selling market that enabled him and his wife to sell their Hanover home at the high end and move back to his native Texas to be closer to aging parents." Lippman explores Dennis's decade as chief and changes he instituted to policing in town and related to Dartmouth.Hartford High senior moves a step closer to Broadway. Macy Bettwieser is among the ten finalists in Broadway World's Next On Stage competition for high schoolers—and the only New Englander to get this far, reports WCAX. The competition was launched in 2020 "to shine a spotlight on young performers across the country who were otherwise sidelined" by the pandemic, Broadway World says. This is its fifth season; Bettwieser tells WCAX she submitted an audition "just to see what would happen." Here she is singing "Beautiful Little Fool" from The Great Gatsby. And here's where you vote for her to move on.SPONSORED: Not sure you want to have plastic surgery where everyone knows your name? Mountain Lake Plastic Surgery is pleased to announce our new White River Junction office, where you’ll find exceptional care in a private environment close to home. We’re two female plastic surgeons focused on honest, top-quality care and natural results. Susan MacLennan, MD has two Dartmouth degrees; Alexandra Schmidt, MD grew up in Norwich. We're excited to be back in the Upper Valley! Give us a call at (802) 444-4421, or find us at the burgundy link. Sponsored by Mountain Lake Plastic Surgery.A childhood in war-torn Beirut, from a neighbor. Tarek El-Ariss teaches Middle Eastern studies at Dartmouth. He spent his childhood and college years in Beirut, before moving to upstate NY to study languages and literature. It was while he was there that a psychoanalyst asked him whether his feelings of impending burnout might have to do with growing up through years of conflict. The eventual result was Water on Fire: A Memoir of War—a book, Rena Mosteirin writes in this week's Enthusiasms, that is rich in both detail and historical context, and "feels as though it were written as an act of love."On the water's edge: alders, pussy willows, and one of the fastest-flying ducks around. It's the second week of December, and in "This Week in the Woods", Northern Woodlands' Jackson Saul dives into speckled alders—which display both fruiting structures and catkins through the winter. In the warmer months, he writes, "the dense thickets alders create on marginal wetland habitat allow woodcock to forage safely in the moist soil around their roots and provide places for alder flycatchers to roost and hunt." Also out there: willow galls housing the willow beaked-gall midge; and hooded mergansers.SPONSORED: Granite Staters! Make your voices heard! The Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission has begun its Regional Plan Process, and we need your input to guide the project. Just as your town develops a Master Plan, UVLSRPC develops a Regional Plan that covers all 27 towns and cities in the Upper Valley-Lake Sunapee Region. It is important to make your thoughts known. The survey should take 15-20 minutes to complete and will be open through 12/31/24. Look for more events and public outreach in 2025! Survey at the burgundy link, more info here. Sponsored by UVLSRPC. Snow is magic, right? Only not when they're Snow and Magic. Yesterday's item on the Brave Little State episode about Vail Resorts' impact on skiing in Vermont (at the link) mistakenly gave Magic Mountain to the Colorado-based ski giant. Actually, Vail owns Mount Snow (and Okemo and Stowe). Thanks to all you fans of the Londonderry VT slopes with the motto "Where skiing still has its soul!” who pointed out my brain freeze. As one reader put it, Magic "is laid back, small, and independent."Dartmouth-led study suggests a way to bury atmospheric carbon in the ocean's depths—thanks to zooplankton poop. Okay, just follow along. Researchers co-led by earth sciences prof Mukul Sharma found that clay dust attaches to carbon particulates. And if you spray that dust over algae blooms—which "remove about 150 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year," writes Morgan Kelly for Dartmouth News—then when marine bacteria eat dead algae, the clay binds to the carbon, gets excreted, and sinks. "Our experiments showed [the bacteria] cannot tell if it’s clay and phytoplankton or only phytoplankton—they just eat it,” says Sharma. Details at the link.Vermont will start testing milk supply for bird flu. That's thanks to a testing program that's getting underway after the USDA last Friday ordered nationwide milk testing for H5N1, which was detected for the first time in March in US dairy cows. "Samples collected in Vermont will be sent to Cornell University, which will notify the state of any positive results," reports Colin Flanders in Seven Days. "The state will then figure out which farms produced the infected milk." The idea is both to detect possible outbreaks early, and then limit their spread.You'd Be In the Dark. This could have been down in the music section, but it's also a news topic. NH singer-songwriter Mike Dunbar, who also happens to work for the civic group Citizens Count, has just written what amounts to a love song to local news, the journalists and editors who create it, and the role it plays in our lives. Commissioned by the Granite State News Collaborative, the song went up yesterday. Snappy tune, too! Maybe it'll catch on...?Who would steal 22 tons of cheese? No idea, but that's about four full-sized elephants' worth of high-end English cheddar that disappeared in October. And it's just one item listed by consultant and former journalist Tom Whitwell in the 2024 version of his always wonderful "52 Things I Learned", which he publishes early each December. Also this year (each with links to sources): In Mongolia, people rave on horseback. Ozempic seems to be changing the second-hand clothing market. In 2024, around 10 percent of Anguilla’s GDP will come from fees for its .ai domain name. A small warning: You could get lost in there! Daybreak doesn't get to exist without your support. Help it stick around by hitting the maroon button:
Fleece vests, sweatshirts, head-warming beanies... Strong Rabbit has updated the Daybreak page to keep up with the changing weather. Plus, of course, the usual: t-shirts, long-sleeved tees, the Daybreak jigsaw, those perfect hand-fitting coffee/tea mugs, and as always, "We Make Our Own Fun" t-shirts and tote bags for proud Upper Valleyites. Check it all out at the link!
Nelson, who among other things directs the Upper Valley Chamber Orchestra, will focus on the cultural life of mid-20th century Hanover and Dartmouth. "Mark will share stories about his parents' and grandparents' involvement with Winter Carnival, the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College, Hanover High School, the Handel Society, and other facets of town/gown life," says the Howe. 4:30 pm, live and via Zoom.
Last month's Upper Valley premiere of the documentary by Richmond School science teacher Greg Stott and director of photography Nick Natale was standing-room only. So the UV Land Trust is screening it again, this time at Rivendell in Orford. Filmed in the Connecticut River Valley and featuring local landmarks, scientists, and writers, it exploresthe Ice Age geology under our feet—from when Lake Hitchcock filled the valley. 6:30 pm.
The handbell choir will perform seasonal favorites in the Draper Room of the Center at Eastman. As they put it, "Bell choirs are like a team sport – each musician has to play at the right time to create the full sound, and practice makes perfect. It’s as interesting to watch as to listen. And handbells, with their amazing overtones, need to be heard live to be appreciated." 7 pm.
It's their final show of the year—some "silliness to shake off the winter blues"—and they're giving it a little extra oomph: more improvisers and a longer show. 8 pm.
Time to take a deep breath.
And here to help: Lucas Debargue. Back in 2015, the pianist entered Moscow's
prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition
as a complete outsider with just a few years of serious training—he was a former employee of a Parisian grocery store—and walked away with
the Critics’ award, Fourth Prize, and a recording contract with Sony. Now he's got a full-on international career. Earlier this year, Sony released his recording of the complete piano works of Gabriel Fauré—a composer, Debargue said back in April, with "
a very personal, philosophical relationship to beauty, actually very intimate, not superficially virtuosic, not spectacular, but still very difficult to play." One other thing to notice: The piano he uses was made by French piano builder (and concert pianist)
Stephen Paulello, and sports 102 keys rather than the 88-97 on many concert grands. Here's Fauré's Barcarolle No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 26.
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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Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Poetry editor: Michael Lipson Associate Editor: Jonea Gurwitt About Rob About Michael
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