Sorry I didn't write to you yesterday: I was stricken with a sudden stomach bug, which fortunately ran its course quickly. I am now in fine shape to drive to New Hampshire this afternoon and to spend all day tomorrow in the classroom of master teacher Carlene Gadapee, who also happens to be my dear friend.

The drive across Maine and the White Mountains should be glorious. Two days' worth of rain have transformed the red-brown landscape into real spring. Grass has greened, leaves are unfolding, pale blossom buds are swelling on the fruit trees, soldier tulips are cracking their stiff petals.

Because I have to start working very early tomorrow, I probably won't write to you again till Thursday. But I'll be excited to share my teaching day with you. This will be the third visit I've made to Carlene's school, and I know that tomorrow's workshops will reinforce what I've already learned: that she is engaged, brisk, open-hearted, and demanding; that her students see her classroom as both a safe space and a door into the thrilling unknown; that she nurtures curiosity and risk as well as civility and responsibility. I always learn so much from watching her in action.