One blog post couldn’t contain all the things to see and do in the Fall here in Orland. We know your focus is rightly on your retreat, but if you’re looking to clear your mind a bit and maybe have a little fun, there’s plenty to see and do. Take a vibrant peek into Maine’s […]
Autumn Adventures in the Orland Area
We want you to make the most of your retreat however you see fit. But if you’re looking for inspiration, Oranbega sits among some the finest natural scenery in the world. Here are a few ideas of some outdoor autumn adventures: 1. Great Pond Mountain Hike (aka Great Hill) Just a short drive from Orland, […]
Making the Most of a Writer’s Retreat: 5 Tips to Recharge and Refocus
A writer’s retreat offers something we all crave but rarely get: uninterrupted time and space to focus on our craft. Whether you’re escaping for a weekend or a full month, how you approach the retreat can make the difference between a creatively rich experience and one that leaves you spinning your wheels. Here are five […]
Winter Silence
One of the profound things a Maine winter can teach us is the power, the meaning, and the beauty of silence. Waking after a snowfall, I am stirred by a quietness in the light that seeks a way into my bedroom around the wooden slats of my window blinds. I vaguely hear the sounds of […]
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year, friends of Oranbega! You will see immediately that there have been some changes around here, but we are still “the quiet place between the rapids” and still very well equipped to offer you the peaceful space for working, meditating, and growing creatively you have always longed for, and fully deserve. First of […]
On Writing Poetry
I wrote a poem on my birthday, which was at the beginning of May. Poetry writing is a mystery. It is a mystery to me why sometimes a poem just seems to pop out of my subconscious up to the page before me. At other times only a germ or a seed emerges and then […]
August Dog Days
Sirius, or Alpha Canis Majoris, the dog star, in the constellation Canis Majoris, rises at dawn in late July and continues to do so in these northern latitudes into the middle of August. The brightest star in the sky, it gives its name to the hot, sticky and uncomfortably heavy weather such as we have […]
WE RAISED $600 for Ukraine!
At our Fund Raising Concert on April 17, featuring Danie Ocean singing songs from her recent compilation ALIVE!, backed by our own hot band, Spence & Co., our generous patrons kicked $575 in cash and checks into our blue and yellow Ukrainian Relief bucket. Our Director rounded up the sum to a full $600 so […]
Alive, again!
“Do you think Jesus gets tired of being resurrected every year?” It was the evening of Easter Sunday, and my friend and I, both long time lovers of church liturgy, had each spent an exhilarating but exhausting weekend celebrating versions of the Christian “triduum,” the three days when each year the church re-tells the story […]
Otter Bliss
Yesterday morning, Iooking out the window at breakfast, I gave a happy cry. “The otters are back!” This Maine winter has seemed really long to me, but at last the Narramissic is ice-free and flowing swiftly down to the Penobscot bay, and the banks are proving good pecking ground for Canada geese and several types […]