Happy March. The temperature in Harmony, Maine, is 10-below, again. But as compensation, the stars in last night's sky shone like pebbles in clean brook water.

And Ruckus hasn't spilled the coffee yet, and the morning sun is casting amber shadows on the snow crust, and the woodstove stayed lit all night long. And my bathrobe is covered with bright pink flowers. And I have plenty more coffee and all the ingredients to make lasagna. And I'm rereading Doctorow's Ragtime, which is even better than I remembered.

As a plus, the book reminded me that Evelyn Nesbit was born in western Pennsylvania. Therefore, today's quotation is by Evelyn Nesbit's mother, who was also named Evelyn Nesbit. Speaking to reporters, she declared:

"I never allowed Evelyn to pose in the altogether."

My grandparents used to say "in the altogether" instead of "naked." But I can't remember why they were talking about nudity in the first place.