Bizarrely, here in February Maine, the temperature is forecast to rise to more than 60 degrees by afternoon. For the moment, we're beginning the day with island weather--a dense fog creeping in from the sea, dowsing daylight and trailing damp snail trails along the windowpanes. It's quite beautiful, though I'm glad not to be driving in it.

Today: yoga and a visit to the library and essay reading and grocery shopping. I'm revisiting a couple of books I studied during my Chestnut Ridge project--Susan Strasser's Never Done: A History of American Housework and Joan Severa's Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900--which I think will offer me some new angles into my apron essay. And I'll be opening windows and pretending that spring is here to stay.

I did read some Merwin yesterday, and I've started my friend Baron Wormser's latest novel, Tom o' Vietnam. Someday, I hope, the writing will once again spill from my fingers. I've been in a long spell of zonelessness.