WELL, WHAT A PLEASURE TO SEE YOU AGAIN, UPPER VALLEY!
We've got six days together. Then there's one more break, July 4-12. Just figured you'd want to know.Mostly sunny, warm—then showers tonight. There'll be more clouds around than yesterday, but temps will still climb into the low or mid 80s. There's also a weak system passing through that could bring gusty winds out of the west this morning. That'll be followed by a more powerful low pressure system whose front will show up sometime tonight, with showers likely to arrive either side of midnight, west to east. Lows in the low 60s."We need to celebrate beautiful things." So writes Andy Torkelson about his discovery while he was out walking the dog along a trail in Norwich—a tiny cottage that, as he puts it, was obviously made "with loving care."DHMC nurses drop unionization effort. On Sunday, reports Christina Dolan in the Valley News, the group leading the push wrote on social media that, while over 40 percent of the hospital's nurses had signed on, they hadn't reached the clear majority they'd hoped for. One organizer tells Dolan that while some care units saw near-unanimous support for a union, others registered no support at all. The announcement noted the hospital administration had used anti-union consultants who, it charged, spread "misinformation and fear"—a depiction chief nursing officer Tracy Galvin says is "grossly inaccurate."Susan Finer, loved and admired former Richmond Middle School principal, dies at 77. Finer had suffered from esophageal cancer for the last year; she died Saturday at DHMC, surrounded by family. She began her career as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone—there along with her husband, Chad—then taught at the Putney School and at Hanover High before heading to the middle school, which she steered for over two decades, from 1986 until she retired in 2007. With Chad, she raised four children—and "loved a house teeming with friends, neighbors, children and lively conversation."With W. Wheelock purchases, college looks to housing, infrastructure plans. It's not yet clear what Dartmouth will do with the four residential properties—two of rental housing on the north side of the street, two apartment buildings on the south—that it bought for $23.5 million from real estate developer Jolin Salazar-Kish, reports Patrick Adrian in the VN. But there's not much question they'll fit into plans to expand housing along the entranceway to Hanover. “These lots, particularly on the north side of the street, have an excellent proximity to the core part of our campus," says VP Josh Keniston.SPONSORED: Osher’s Summer Lecture Series begins July 10 with speaker Tori Holt! “America’s Role in Preserving Peace and Prosperity” is a six-session series addressing issues affecting U.S. global leadership. Lectures take place on six Wednesdays, starting July 10 with former State Department official and current Dickey Center director Tori Holt, and running through August 14, from 9-11:30 AM. Join us at the Lebanon Opera House or via livestream. Open to the public; register for the full series or individual sessions. Be sure to check out the trailer on our website! Sponsored by Osher at Dartmouth.Here's a use case Land O'Lakes probably never thought of: rescuing vireo chicks. That's how Northern Woodlands' Elise Tillinghast and her family used an old margarine tub after the recent rains brought down a nest, she writes. "We found three vireo chicks—at most a couple days old, not close to fledging—lying in wet grass with bits of waterlogged nest." They attached the tub to a tree, put in the chicks—and two days later, they were still alive and getting fed by their parents. Sadly, no photos, but Elise does include a couple of eye-catching caterpillars that are active out there in the woods this week.And speaking of caterpillars, why driving off the browntail moth again will look different from last time. You remember—they're the caterpillars that can cause rashes in humans and were eradicated from NH back in the first half of the 20th century, only to be discovered recently on the Isle of Shoals. On his Granite Geek blog, David Brooks describes what it took last time around: hundreds of men climbing trees and snipping their nests out of branches, then burning huge piles of them. As a state entomologist tells him, "Nowadays, having 50 people climb 60-foot trees with no ropes is more problematic."SPONSORED: Tuck's Rock Dojo celebrates 15 years with an epic music fest Saturday! Soulful ballads, soaring rock anthems, infectious pop: There'll be something for everyone at the Lake Morey Resort June 29. Nearly 100 current and alumni dojo musicians—including Brooks Hubbard, Hans Williams, Shy Husky, and the Dojo All Stars—will perform on two stages from 3 to 10pm. Plus: Wood-fired pizza, food trucks, dancing dragons, lawn games, the Juggler Man, lake fun and fire spinners at dusk + a chance to win a PRS guitar. Free and open to all—program here. Sponsored by Tuck's Rock Dojo.For commodity farmers getting into regenerative ag, it's not the money. Instead, Dartmouth geography prof Susanne Freidberg tells Dartmouth News' Amy Olson, “Farmers are really looking to get off that treadmill of high-input, high-yield commodity agriculture." Freidberg is one of a trio of researchers from the college who interviewed 80 farmers in Kansas and Nebraska in 2022-23. The farmers reported finding plenty of benefits from paying attention to soil health—not least, cutting reliance on agro giants—and some downsides, like neighbors' disdain for the messiness of fields layered over with cover crops.A local tie to a couple of big Tony awards. Ten days ago, at the start of the Daybreak break, Vermonter Shaina Taub won best book and best original score for Suffs, the Broadway musical she wrote and performs in. Taub is from Waitsfield, but turns out there's an Upper Valley presence in the production, too: The sashes worn by suffragists onstage were made by Thetford's Susanna French—who's got a side gig selling historically accurate reproductions of sashes worn by members of the women's suffrage movement. Sixteen of hers are in the show, wrangled by a wardrobe sash captain. (Thanks, DG!)Lebanon was among NH's fastest-growing communities from 2020-2023. Overall, the NH Fiscal Policy Institute notes in an analysis of new Census Bureau estimates, the state gained about 23,400 residents during that time. The fastest-growing area was the Lakes Region, but economic hubs—and towns nearby—all over the state also saw significant population growth. Lebanon ranked third in the state in percentage terms, with 1,044 new residents and 7.3 percent growth overall. The only town in the Upper Valley to lose population was Lyme, which the estimates say dropped three residents.Primary tips for Vermont. This year's primary for statewide and legislative offices isn't until August 13, but it's never too soon to know your way around the process. Seven Days deputy publisher Cathy Resmer has pulled together a handy, seven-point guide, including how to register, what you'll need to have in hand when you do, the fact that 17-year-olds can vote in the primary if they turn 18 by the Nov. 5 general election, how to request at-home ballot delivery if you're sick or disabled, and more.Easily trainable, hypoallergenic, and not in the least judgmental about your swing. You’ve got to figure that if llamas can carry heavy packs in the Andes, a golf bag is an easy haul. The animals, which already serve as wedding guests and comfort buddies, are now being called on to caddy, writes Jennifer A. Kingson on Axios. Soft-footed and easy on the grass, llamas are a novelty at certain courses—though they're useless at club selection and course tips. Still, they’re in demand. "When I saw cars stopping on the side of the road to take pictures, I knew we were onto something," says trainer Mark English.The Monday Jigsaw on Wednesday. Because you can miss one jigsaw, but two? Unthinkable. For this one, the Norwich Historical Society's Sarah Rooker writes, "Just about everybody in the Upper Valley has heard these." And here's a hint: They vary in size from 200 to 5,300 pounds, and play every note across an octave and a half except E flat. More here.
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We may be the middle of nowhere to everyone else in VT and NH, but
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know what's good! Strong Rabbit's Morgan Brophy has come up with the perfect design for "We Make Our Own Fun" t-shirts and tote bags for proud Upper Valleyites. Plus you'll find the Daybreak jigsaw puzzle, as well as sweatshirts, tees, a fleece hoodie, and, as always, the fits-every-hand-perfectly Daybreak mug. Check it all out at the link!
The sprawling celebration of all things bluegrass draws fans from all over the world to the Tunbridge fairgrounds, and though tThe main events start tomorrow, today at 1 pm, the Ruta Beggars host an open mic, followed at 7 pm with a barn dance led by The Malpass Brothers. Workshops, jams, and days of concerts by big acts and smaller ones. Runs through Sunday morning. Schedule at the link, and
.
This week's outdoor concert—ie, keep an eye on the weather—features local folk duo Sandiland & Vincent. Starts at 6:30 pm.
Conservation biologist Chris Schadler, who runs NH's Project Coyote, will talk about the ecology and behavior of eastern coyotes and attempts by eastern wolves to return to territory that was once theirs.
Mermin has a new memoir out,
A Circle of Sawdust
, that ranges from his hijinks as a clown in European circuses, from the rough-and-tumble to the elegant and refined, to his studies with Marcel Marceau and years creating and shaping Smirkus. At 7 pm.
Renowned fiddler, caller, and barn dance revivalist Dudley Laufman will give a "Center Presents" talk, sponsored by NH Humanities, on contra dancing in the state from Colonial times to the present, through stories, poems, and the music itself. Starts at 7 pm.
The local jazz pillar's annual summer camp got underway on Sunday, and as they always do each year early in the session, they're throwing a swing dance with music performed by faculty and students. Starts at 8 pm in the Kimball Union Academy student center.
And to bring us into the day...
One of the key performers at Jenny Brook this week will be Dan Tyminski, the West Rutland, VT native who's won 14 Grammys and is a marquee name in bluegrass world. That's him singing "Man of Constant Sorrow" in
O Brother Where Art Thou
, and as if that wasn't enough, his 2013 collaboration on the dance track "Hey Brother" by electronic music artist Avicii gained him an international following. At over a billion streams, "It's by far the most listened-to piece of music that I will ever have," Tyminski told an interviewer last year. "I don't think I'll ever have the opportunity to record something that's reached farther into the corners of the earth." Last year, a decade later, he reprised the song in a bluegrass version with his band.
It's so nice to be able to type: 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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