Tech Savvy Milbank

Imbolc                                          Waning Bridgit Moon        Blue Cloud Abbey Since I plan to spend most of my time writing, I brought one of my split keyboards which make typing much easier for me.  Only thing.  It had an old fashioned pin style plug-in.  I have a USB exclusive laptop along.  Sigh. Got on the web and discovered […]

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A Novel. Again.

Imbolc                                           Waxing Bridgit Moon Signed up for 8 nights at Blue Cloud Abbey, Feb. 28 to March 8.  My goal is to push Missing at least to the 2/3rds mark for a rough draft, maybe more if I get on a roll.  I’m considering getting up into time for the early morning prayers, 6:45 am, […]

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Back From The Cloud

Imbolc                                                           Waxing Bridgit Moon The drive home with Frank is over.  We followed route 12 back east, away from Blue Cloud Abbey and the snow which had claimed a semi and an SUV on the road away from the Abbey, stopping only in Litchfield for a Chinese lunch, a buffet.  We talked as usual about […]

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When the Bell Tolls, It Tolls For Me

Imbolc                                      Waxing Bridgit Moon Here I am, a heretic beneath the bell tower of Blue Cloud Abbey, sitting at this mobile scriptorium, pecking away at the keys.  The bell tower rises outside the window, a jet passing by, contrail at an acute angle toward the north, a metal angel streaking like Icarus toward the sun; […]

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Contemplative

Imbolc                                Waning Cold Moon Ancientrails hits the road again this afternoon for sunny eastern South Dakota, high above the plains.  There I will reside, for three nights, in a local instance of a 1,300 year plus institution, the Benedictine Monks of the Roman Catholic Church. It’s interesting to me that the international website for the […]

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Floating Away to Blue Cloud Abbey

Imbolc                              Waning Cold Moon’ Last day at home until Sunday.  Headed out to Blue Cloud Abbey, where Kathleen Norris wrote at least two books.  The Abbey’s buildings are 1960’s modernist, most like public elementary schools, save for the Abbey church which has some panache.  The Abbey church, the guest house and the monastic facilities sit […]

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Monks and Prisoners

An interesting Christmas note to my brother Mammoths from a monk at Blue Cloud Abbey in South Dakota MERRY CHRISTMAS JIM AND ALL WOOLLY MAMMOUTHS (sic), Thanks for those elegant photographs, Jim. As much as I hate winter, I have to admit a work of art when I see one. Recently I went to a […]

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