Category: Reviews

Those who fancy a little touch of winter / seasonal cheer and snow but who don’t fancy exploring a full region, might want to drop in Little Winter, Terrygold’s look at the season for 2020.

Terry has been offering these little winter scenes at the end of the year in Second Life for the last few years, and I’ve always enjoyed visiting them – although I will confess to missing her 2019 design.

Located on a sky platform over Solo Arte, where Terrygold often displayed her art and immersive installations, Little Winter presents a simple, easy to appreciate outdoor setting that starts at a little chapel decorated with little stars, with an outhouse that might be the modern-day equivalent of a stable, housing as it does a tricycle and a motor scooter.

A path winds away from the chapel between shoulders and tables of rock and marked by silver birch trees, eventually arriving at a little cabin facing another barn. The cabin is cosy and warm, the barn a little grotto of waiting presents, guarded by large toy soldiers.

Around these are lots of little details to be appreciated, from puppies playing with the reins of a sled to happy snowmen and strutting snow kiwis. As well as these, there are places to sit and cuddle, dances to be enjoyed and various opportunities for photography – or even to make a snow angel.

Watched over by deer, Little Winter is an easy to enjoy setting that doesn’t overly impact system performance or require a huge amount of time to explore and appreciate, making it a relaxing and engaging visit.

SLurl Details

• Little Winter (Enoki, rated Moderate)

With winter on our doorstep, Milly Sharple has once again opened her annual Let It Snow! winter / Christmas themed region for Second Life residents to enjoy, and Caitlyn and I once again received an invitation – although I’m still playing a lot of catch-up on general blogging  due to the physical world occupying a lot of my time at the moment, so it has taken me a fair few days to get to the point of writing about it.

I’ve actually been covering Let It  Snow! on an annual basis since 2014, only stopping during the years Milly took a break from presenting the region, and have always enjoyed our little pilgrimages to see what seasonal delights Milly has served up – as an artist, she has an eye for framing photogenic series of vignettes across her chosen region, often with touches of whimsy design to bring smiles to the faces of those visiting.

A  visit to the region starts on the north side, where a little village square awaits arrivals, a pavilion offering the warmth of an open fire, a gazebo a place for dancing and, for those seeking something a little warmer, a cosy cottage. Overlooked on one side by a large and warmly-furnished house atop a rocky table,the village is a short walk to a frozen pond ready for ice skaters.

Cut by channels of frozen water spanned by bridges, this year’s Let It Snow! follows Milly’s previous iterations of the region by presenting within its snow-covered landscape a series of interlinked vignettes and scenes, each of which stands on its own whilst also being linked to the rest of the region.

To describe all of these settings here would be to spoil the opportunity for exploration and discovery, but there are various points within the region I found particularly attractive. Chief among these is the the manner in which Milly has combined The Chapel Ruins from The Looking Glass with pieces by Paco Pooley and Krystali Rabeni to create the site of a ruined chapel, complete with a stained glass window by Milly as a romantic setting with an ethereal edge to it.

Whimsy is added here and there, as with previous designs – such as the snowball-throwing snowman lurking under a tree, while seasonal touches come in the form of the decorations adorning the rooms of the large house, the lights hanging on the trees around the skating rink and so on.

As well as ice skating, the region offers signs where sleds can be rezzed,  plenty of opportunities for dancing, and even the opportunity to play chess with a companion.

The best way to explore the region is to go where your feet will take you – there are no formal paths (just steps to get up to and down from he raised portions of the landscape). However, when visiting I do recommend you use the region’s environment settings to appreciate i to the fullest – and the sky dome Milly has placed over it – to the fullest.

With plenty to see and do, and with lots of opportunities for photography, 2020’s let It Snow is as captivating to the eye as past iterations, and more than worth the time taken in a visit.

SLurl Details

• Let It Snow! (Peace Angel, rated Moderate)

Occupying half of a Full region, Yukina is the home of Namanax & Stella (Stella Mahogany), who is largely responsible for its design. Currently sitting within a winter setting, we were directed to it by Shawn Shakespeare, our resident region discoverer :).

The parcel runs north-south,  with the eastern side open to the sea, and the west boundary marked by high cliffs separating it from the neighbouring parcel.

The southern end of the land is a actually the private home of Stella and Namanax, and while protected by ban lines to prevent trespass, leaving the garden open, it might be a good idea to avoid straying beyond the gabled gates leading up to the house (complete with stone lions guarding the path), in order to avoid the flick-knife armed squirrel  patrols (you’ll have to visit and take a peek into the grounds of the house yo understand this comment 🙂 ).

The main house isn’t the only property on the parcel, however; the public area of the parcel are home to a number of houses and cabins large and small, including one particularly impressive structure rising from the small  lake in the middle of the landscape. All of these appear to be open to the public and are furnished, giving each of them a cosy feel.

The landing point sits on the east side of the parcel on the dock alongside a boathouse. From here visitors have a choice of routes for exploration, most laid out in the form of snowy tracks that wind their way out and around the houses and cabins. The way around is also marked by by the local wildlife within the parcel, which ranges from the aforementioned squirrels (which are in fact more interested in playing than carrying weapons of any description!) through rabbits, cats, puppies, chipmunks and – most notably reindeer.

All of this makes for a lot to see, from the comfort and warmth of the houses to the scenes along the tracks to the decks that sit alongside a number of the houses (and which offer places for visitors to sit).

There are also some nice scenic touches waiting to be found – the Christmas tree shop operated by some nattily dressed gnomes being one of the more obvious, although I liked the little hump backed bridge over the still-flowing stream that feeds the (otherwise frozen) lake.  And for those who like a little a little activity during their visits, the lake offers ice shaking;  just look for the sign on one of the tracks that loops by it.

Overall, the setting is well presented and makes for an engaging visit. However, there is a lot packed into this half region, including falling mesh snow (that actually invites itself into one of the houses, drifting through the roof!), all of which can make for heavy going in places due to the volume of mesh, so some might want to tweak their viewer to get the most comfortable level of performance.

But that said, Yukina offers a rewarding wintertime visit.

SLurl Details

• Yukina (Cosa Nostra, rated Moderate)