Category: Second Life

Frog Hollow – click any image for full size

Note: Frog Hollow has closed and Stella has created Winter’s Hollow – read here for more. Because it has closed, I’ve removed the SLurl reference from this review.

Frog Hollow, occupying the north-east corner of the Full region Blue Nile, is a 8176 sq m parcel that has been exquisitely landscaped by Stella Mahogany and offered to the public as a place of exploration and rest. It is also another shining example of why a full-sized region (Full or homestead) isn’t required to create something special and personal in-world.

Bounded on three sides by tall cliffs, Frog Hollow has a nice – but not overpowering – feeling of an enclosed garden, a personal space to be enjoyed without due worry about others looking in. To the west, it faces open water, where a wooden deck sits as the landing point for visitors. Lily pads below the decking offer a place for frogs to hop as lanterns drift on a slow breeze overhead.

Frog Hollow

A single trail leads inland from here, winding between banks of wild flowers and the trunks of silver birch whose leaves are turning golden in reflection of of the changing of the seasons in the northern hemisphere. Fallow deer are to be seen among the tree trunks, and further inland, wander along the looping path or curiously exploring the spaces available for visitors to enjoy.

The largest of these spaces can be reached a short way among the path, where a little bridge branches away to arch over a dry steam bed and arrive at a set of gabled gates. Beyond these is a large brick-and-glass pavilion (another superb design from Cory Edo, for whose work I have a particular fondness).  This is presented as a romantic, magical place. An old grand piano sits at its centre, sheets of music floating and tumbling magically above it as if Harry Potter has recently been by in a playful mood. Cats play under the piano’s lee, and close by a painting, easel and paints await the return of their artist.

Frog Hollow

To one side of this pavilion sits a small terrace, itself bordered by vines turning to gold, home to a setting for afternoon tea. A further befountained terrace lies to the pavilion’s rear, a paved path winding into the trees beyond. Also reached by a grassy path passing under a Rowan arch and alongside another snug little seating area with cosy bric-a-brac, the paved path leads to yet another patio, marked by a smaller, curtained pavilion presenting a place of rest and comfort.

Whilst all relatively close to one another, these little spots have been designed with considerable care; an eye for the considered use of space and for studied design ensuring that they do not feel clustered one atop the next, whilst also allowing each of them to have its own unique nature.

Frog Hollow

Nor is this all; facing the front of the pavilion is a further paved area, complete with open fireplace and neatly set out for a formal meal as delicate little lanterns float overhead.

Should you opt not to cross the little bridge into the brick pavilion’s domain but instead follow the path onwards, it will carry you under bough and around twist and turn to a second bridge, and a further enchanted area. Here a chandelier hands from a stout tree branch, and a giant game of chess is set before comfortable armchairs, watched over by more fallow deer even as the trail winds onwards through an old metal gate – and arrives at the brick pavilion.

Frog Hollow

In this the further genius of Stella’s design is revealed: no matter which route you take when following the path, it will take you through the garden to reveal all the major points of interest before looping you back the to landing point. Along the way you’ll pass many places where you can sit and talk and / or cuddle, engage in a game of chess, listen to, or play, a piano, observe the local fauna – and simply appreciate the beauty of Frog Hollow and Stella’s creative skill and eye for detail. And keep in mind that there are a lot of little touches to be found throughout I’ve not mentioned here (just observe the little pumpkin at the landing point for a couple of minutes, and you’ll see what I mean).

Magical and marvellous, Frog Hollow is a true delight – but it will apparently only be around as long as the leaves are falling. So don’t miss the opportunity to visit and share in the enchantment.

Frog Hollow

Florence Bay – click any image for full size

Update, February 2020: Florence Bay has closed. SLurls have therefore been removed from this article. However, Florence at Low Tide is now open – see Witnessing Florence at low tide in Second Life for more.

Florence Bay is a homestead region held by Gnaaah Xeltentat and Tomaso Franizzi, with landscaping by Minnie Blanco (Minnie Atlass). Minnie both runs and landscapes the Soul 2 Soul region (some of which you can read about here, and here); given my fondness for hers work, I was curious to take a look at Florence Bay, so we recently hopped over to explore.

The region is listed by Gnaaah and Tomaso as “private, but please wander and enjoy”. Two large houses are located on the island; as these are private residences for both Tomaso and Gnaaah, people are asked to respect their privacy and consider both properties as off limits, although there are no security systems in place.

Florence Bay – click any image for full size

The setting is suggestive of somewhere in northern latitudes, the tall off-region peaks on two sides suggesting this is a rugged upthrust of rock just off a stretch of untamed coastline, caught under a cold, wintry sky. Fir trees and scrub grass are the dominant flora on this hunched landscape, their presence and the sound of the wind whistling its way in off the sea further enhancing the sense that this is somewhere well north of the Topic of Cancer.

At the time of our visit, there was no enforced landing point for the region, so for this article I’ve arbitrarily selected a point in the south-east corner of the region, as it seems a logical place to start explorations. A narrow ribbon of shale beach curls around a low-lying promontory here, the home to a copse of tall firs and an old chapel. The latter appears to have been converted to a place for general meditation or reflection, rather than being a place a worship, the altar replaced by a warming fireplace. For those with a taste for adventure, a raft lies among the reeds of the shallows close by. This again offers a place of rest and shelter, although the manner in which its makeshift sail is catching the wind suggests it is eager to break free of whatever ropes or chains are holding it in place…

Florence Bay

The little promontory curls around to connect to the bulk of the landscape, climbing as it does so. Here rocky paths can be found, one running west, the other north, each leading to the private residences. It is also here that things get a little confusing with exploring.

Beyond the western house is a little café and, sitting behind it on a second headland, a shed housing – rather incongruously, given the overall rugged setting – a car undergoing repair.  However, while the café would appear to be a public space, the only way to reach it is by walking directly in front of or around one of the two private residences, potentially impinging your presence, even in passing, on the property. It thus becomes a little confusing as to whether the café is a public space or not.

Florence Bay

Similarly, beyond the headland with the garage, the land falls away to another low-lying finger of rock and shale beach, complete with a set of piers reaching out into the deep cut of the western bay. Chairs sit on the piers, and a rowing boat with sitting poses is moored alongside, together with a fishing boat, all of which suggests this is also a public space; but again, to reach it requires a degree of trespass through the garden of the private house.

This pier looks both eastwards and back inland to where the second of the two houses sits high above the frigid water atop a shoulder of rock, and north to were a narrow cleft splits the land, spanned by a wooden bridge. This can be reached by following the path from the my offering arrival point westwards and up over the low hump of a hill, before turning right and away from the first house and its gardens.

Florence Bay

This route passes over another grey beach of shale curing within the large bay before rising to the western headland, offering a view down to a small, and previously hidden cottage sitting right on the coast, and access to a path running up to the bridge and the small knuckle of rock beyond – the home of firs trees and a bear with her cub.

There are odd little issues that might be found when travelling across the region: the rocks used to mark the paths can be seen hovering over the landscape in places, while there were a few points where we either bounced off of flora that wasn’t phantom or fell through rocks that unexpectedly were. But when taken in total, there is no denying the atmosphere exuded by Florence Bay, accentuated nicely by the region’s soundscape, and the fact that it lends itself as a perfect location for photography.

Florence Bay