Category: Exploring Second Life

Nigh on two years ago I blogged about Black Kite, the home of Black Cloud (Theblackcloud Oh), and a region open to visitors to enjoy. In the intervening time I’ve been back there on a number of occasions, drawn in part by the fact that it is a water-themed region. As regular reader know, I have something of a soft spot for such places.

Truth be told, not a lot has changed with the region in that time – and that shouldn’t be taken as a critique in any way, because that’s certainly not how it is intended. That Black Kite continues in look and feel as the months go by, so does the feeling of comfort and familiarity one gains with each subsequent visit. When so much can be subject to chop and change within Second Life, it is sometimes nice to have anchor points which can be returned to and enjoyed without the uncertain surprise of change; hence another reason for my visits.

For my part, I love how Black Kite mixes the natural and surreal, presenting an environment which is at once familiar and yet faintly alien. A place where wooden board walks and telegraph poles sit alongside the twisted, ball-topped forms of snake trees, and water droplets rise by the dozen from around armchairs sitting in the water while fish swim through the air indoors.

In my original post about Black Kite, I commented that it is very a much a place where one can get away and simply *be”. It still is; here are places – such as the aforementioned chairs – where one can sit and / or share with a friend or two. Nor are you restricted to ground (or water!) level: ladders provide access to the rooftops of several of the wooden buildings scattered across the region,  where additional chairs and benches might be found.

One of the delights of the region is that almost everything is carefully spaced across the region that conversations and the scenery can be enjoyed without the feeling of being overheard or sitting within earshot  / view of someone else’s privacy.

For those of a photographic bent, the default windlight presents Black Kite beautifully – but it is also a place where twiddling with settings can yield some quite unexpected and delightful results. A Flickr group is available for those you like to share their shots.

Visitors are free to wander where they will when visiting Black Kite, but if you’ve never dropped-in before, do be aware that Black Cloud has her private house in the north-east corner of the region, so do please respect her privacy.

I couldn’t resist a further attempt at doing a little video recording while visiting the region, so I’ll leave you with that – and a reminder of the Black Kite SLurl.

Related Links

• Black Kite SLurl (Rated: Moderate)
• Black Kite Flickr group

The Pines at Jacob’s Pond, Jacob (Flickr)

I last visited The Pines at Jacob’s Pond in February 2014, when an early spring was in the air. Now, with many regions embracing an autumnal feel in keeping with the turning of the seasons in the northern hemisphere in the physical world, The Pines has embraced a wintry scene.

The Pines at Jacob’s Pond, Jacob (Flickr)

The new scene brings with it a new design for the region. The lake is frozen, snow lies heavy on the surrounding farmlands and in the boughs of the trees; deer forage for grass and horses exhale colds of warm breath into the cold morning light.

The Pines at Jacob’s Pond, Jacob (Flickr)

Dacotah Longfall, who designs Jacob’s Pond, offers a warm welcome to visitors arriving in the small cabin on the south side of the region, inviting them to enjoy her backyard – and noting that clothing is optional. With the snow on the ground and the misty look to the air, I’m not sure this is advisable!

The Pines at Jacob’s Pond, Jacob (Flickr)

Snowy paths wind across the region, with lamplit bridges helping to guide the way over the frozen streams, guiding the way around the lake and to the barn, and to farmhouse up on the hill to the north. These don’t have to be followed, visitors can wander as they please, and – as ever – there are plenty of opportunities for photography.

All told this is a another delightful redressing of a region which never fails to please. It might seem a tad early for thinking about the depths of winter, but The Pines at Jacob’s Pond presents the perfect image of snow and crisp skies we probably all love.

The Pines at Jacob’s Pond, Jacob (Flickr)

The Pines at Jacob’s Pond forms a part of the End of Time group of regions, if you’ve not visited the estate, I can only recommend that once you’ve explored The Pines, you pop across to Nu Haven, Tide, Eotia, Wabe, Crow, and Gyre. All make for wonderful exploration.

Related Links

• The Pines at Jacobs Pond SLurl (Rated: Moderate)
• End of time Teleport Crow SLurl (Rated: Moderate)
• End of Time website

Just Another Tequila Sunrise, Isle of Love (Flickr)

I was led to Just Another Tequilla Sunrise by Kate Bergdorf, who mentioned it in her blog recently. A homestead region, it is currently painted in rich autumnal colours which make it an absolute delight to visit on these (for those of us in the UK at least), damp and dreary days.

The work of SL photographer Arol Lightfoot, the region’s name is a perfect reflection of its look and feel under the default windlight (although I admittedly used others when taking my own snaps).  Photographers are warmly invited to explore and take pictures, and Arol has created a Flickr group where images can be shared, if people wish.

Just Another Tequila Sunrise, Isle of Love (Flickr)

For those who explore SL a lot, there are a number of familiar motifs here – the offshore lighthouse, the craggy upthrust of a rocky plateau, the low-laying lands broken by bodies of water, the sweeping white curve of a beach… Which is not to say that Just Another Tequila Sunrise is in any way derivative; quite the reverse in fact. In a world where people are limited in how they can take an island 256 metres on a side and blend it into the surrounding sea, it is inevitable that regions come to share familiar elements while still retaining their own individuality from one another.

More than this, however, is the fact that such familiar elements within individual region designs help to give a feeling of continuity as one travels through SL. When encountered, they can help make individual islands feel as if they are different elements of the same country or coastline, rather than being individual places, more-or-less standing on their own.

Just Another Tequila Sunrise, Isle of Love (Flickr)

Two areas of habitation mark the island. On the west sits a small farm, the ribbon of a lake reaching almost to the front door of the house. To the east, and built out over one of the two beaches, sits a wooden pier topped by a sun-bleached house. Between them the low-lying grasslands offer plenty of space to wander, with places for individuals, couples and groups to sit and enjoy the surroundings. Bridges, both stone and wooden, allow easy passage over the water, and a path cut into the rock guides those so minded to the top of the southern plateau.

With the sounds of nature throughout and birds wheeling overhead, Just Another Tequila Sunrise is, as noted above, an absolute delight to visit, and guaranteed to brighten the dreariest of days. Highly recommended.

Just Another Tequila Sunrise, Isle of Love (Flickr)

Related Links

• Just Another Tequila Sunrise (Rated: Moderate)

Sanssouci Park is an airborne recreation of Frederick the Great’s 18th century villa-like summer palace, Sanssouci (from the French sans souci, “without worry”).

Located in Potsdam, Germany, the palace was the Prussian king’s summer retreat, and formed the centrepiece of a major series buildings, gardens, water features (not all of the latter successful) and parklands making up Sanssouci Park which Frederick the Great established and Frederick William IV later expanded. The palace, based on drawings by the king himself, was initially realised by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, and is regarded as one of the most important work of Northern German rococo architecture, also referred to as “Frederician Rococo”, as developed by von Knobelsdorff.

The version in Second Life is the work of Claire-Sophie de Rocoulle (tjay007 Resident), who has sought to recreate the vineyard terraces, the facade of the summer palace (with a small interior set), together with some of the formal gardens. A small commercial area, screened from the gardens and terraces by trees and hedgerows offers a range of stores selling period items to suit the setting of the location, and under these is an exhibition hall providing more background information on the original palace and grounds, and the times in which it was built. Also on display here are photo comparisons between Claire-Sophie’s build and the original – which serve to show the care taken in trying to offer an accurate reproduction.

The garden is home of various role-play events suitable for the period of the park’s heyday (and which include balls, picnics, etc.). Information on specific events is available through the Sanssouci Gardens RP Group, while a note card giver located in the foyer area outside the exhibition hall outlines requirements for play – most of which appears to be casual. Those wishing to hold their own (presumably period) events on the park are invited to contact either Claire-Sophie or Sofia von Essen (HHdoctorRaven Resident).

For those who wish to explore the park in costume, free clothing and wigs are also available in the foyer area outside the exhibition hall, as is a teleporter to the Charlottenburg Palace ballroom, the venue for role-play balls.

If hunts are of interest to you, the park offers one of its own. Simply locate 15 of the jewels scattered around the garden and terraces to claim the prize. Those who enjoy a little fencing can also enjoy themselves in one of the shaded alcoves to one side of the gardens.

If you’re looking for an 18th century period setting for a photo shoot, or simply enjoy exploring historical recreations in SL, then a visit to Sanssouci Park might be worth your while.

Related Links

• Sanssouci Park SLurl (Rated: Moderate)

France Portnawak, Dreamworld Volcano (Flickr)

It’s taken me a while to get a write-up on the current incarnation of Leica Arado’s France Portnawak finished; I only hope it’s not so late that the region undergoes a winter redesign!

The description for the place refers to it as “a paradise for lovers of nature and landscape!” – and that does much to sum-up the region, but also leaves a lot unsaid; as it is also a place of subtle art and artistry.

The landing point offers visitors bicycles or horses to explore the island, but while visiting, I much preferred to use my pedal extremities (or shanks’ pony, depending on the idiom you prefer with regards to bicycles or horses), and simply wandered on foot.

France Portnawak, Dreamworld Volcano (Flickr)

The design of the place is a wonderful blending of sandy, almost tropical island, and the colours of autumn among the trees and flowers. A lagoon lies at the centre of the region, the low-lying island almost completely surrounding it.  The trees scattered across the encircling land are far more temperate than tropical land, and have the reds and golds of autumn mixing easily with greener boughs. Grass and sand vie with one another under the spreading shade of high branches, in places awash in the yellows and lavender of free-growing flowers and magic grass.

To one side of the island sits the square bulk of a private are gallery displaying 2D and 3D works from a number of SL artists – do keep an eye out for Cica Ghost’s enchanting stick figures flickering gently in various corners! Across the lagoon from this sits a little shanty shack, a home to someone, perhaps. Sheep and chickens roam outside, while  a glass of red wine on the table inside suggests whoever lives there isn’t far away, as does the cat,  waiting patiently just outside the door.

France Portnawak, Dreamworld Volcano (Flickr)

There’s more to see out on the water of the lagoon, where lilies sit with translucent rocks, the latter shimmering with colour and almost entirely transparent under certain lighting. In the middle of the water, crystal-like steps lead up to a square platform offering four blanket-draped chairs in which to sit. This isn’t the only place to stop and relax; there are several spots scattered across the island where couples and groups can sit or dance, or the solo visitor can rest their feet.

Whether you visit France Portnawak on your own or with one or more friends, it is a beautifully idyllic setting, and wroth taking the time to wander and appreciate.

France Portnawak, Dreamworld Volcano (Flickr)

Related Links

• France Portnawak (Rated: Moderate)