ok... after much playing around (because I have appointments or events on
nearly every date in the calendar for several months in advance), the
handles will be present if the dates visible on the screen (day, week or
month) do not have appointments or events. Add an appointment and the
handles disappear. You can't turn them off, other than by either adding
appointments to the calendar or using a view that shows at least 1
appointment. (i.e., if you prefer the month view, add a recurring event to
the 1st day of the month, if you like week views, you'll need an event on at
least one day of that week).