Category: Reviews

Autumn Trace, July 2019 – click and image for full size

Elvira Kytori has a reputation for producing visually engaging and photogenic regions, and her designs are places we’ve always enjoyed visiting. So it was with pleasure that we made a return to Autumn Trace (formally Fall Trace), having last dropped in to write about it back at the end of 2016 (see Resting in Fall Trace in Second Life).

To be honest, the intervening time has not seen much (if anything) in the way of change in the physical design of the region. Still sitting under a cloud scudded autumn sky with the sun low on the horizon, this is a region that, once rendered, imbues a feeling of tranquillity well in keeping with the its official name. The low sun casts a soft glow across the region and lights the far horizon as if ringing Autumn Trace in a warm embrace.

Autumn Trace, July 2019 – click and image for full size

Completely low-lying, this is very much a water region, the fact that it is presented as a marshland rather than the (perhaps) more usual swamplands seen in Second Life adding a further level of attraction in making a visit. It is also, as a part of the White Dunes Estate, a partially residential region; the houseboat and other houses in the region are available for rent (or may be rented), so some care is required to avoid trespassing onto private property.

The landing point sits towards the middle of the region, within a small shack. From here a board walk leads out over the water and reeds, forming an open U that runs south and east before turning north to end at a small motorboat presenting a place for visitors to sit and enjoy the view. Along the way, the path passes a couple of the rentals, and also other public rest places – including a little raft out on the water, while a shorter branch of the board walk offers access to where a rowing boat also awaits people wishing to enjoy a place to sit and cuddle.

Autumn Trace, July 2019 – click and image for full size

Eastwards, and overlooked by a watchtower that can be reached via another wooden path, the region is open and wild; south and west is an arc of private rentals, the shallow channel of water between them and the inner part of the region forming a natural buffer against trespass. However, it is not the rentals that hold the attention here; it is the wildfowl and birds.

Across the region one can spot pelicans, herons, geese, cormorants, and egrets, while overhead crows and an eagle circle and small birds can be spotted throughout.  Also to be found are deer and beaver and possibly one or two critters we missed. All of these add additional depth to photography within the region, offering plenty of opportunities to capture the local “characters”.

Autumn Trace, July 2019 – click and image for full size

All of this means that Autumn Trace remains an ideal destination for a relaxing visit, one which – as the heat of summer takes its toll across many parts of the northern hemisphere, perhaps offers a sense of cooler climes and a break from feeling as if you’re slowly broiling in the heat.

With thanks to Miro Colas for the reminder to pay Autumn Trace another blogging visit.

Autumn Trace, July 2019 – click and image for full size

SLurl Details

• Autumn Trace (Tranquil Bay, rated Moderate)

Scarlett Isle, July 2019 – click and image for full size

Scarlett Isle is the name given to the Homestead region held by Grace Sixpence and Zigmal we recently toured. It has been landscaped for them by Engelsstaub, who is perhaps best known for her own region designs at Whimberly, a place I’ve written about on numerous occasions in this blog simply because of the elegance of the settings within it that Staubi presents.

And this elegance and beauty is to be found within Scarlett Isle. The region’s About Land description states “Scarlett Isle is designed to be used by those interested in SL Photography”, and it is very definitely photogenic.

Scarlett Isle, July 2019 – click and image for full size

The region is presented as a pair of large islands, diagonally cut by a narrow sliver of water running south-east to north-west, where both islands form a bay in which a smaller, lighthouse-topped islet sits.

The more southerly of the two islands is the larger landmass, and home to the landing point as it sits towards the centre of the region. Rugged in nature, the southern island is nevertheless low-lying, marked by a large oval of rocky land to the east. With its stepped strata of grass-topped rock, this looks from some angles like the mossy shell of the great turtle lying in the water.

Scarlett Isle, July 2019 – click and image for full size

The western end of this rocky hill rolls gently down to a lower shelf of rock extending further westward and bounded to the south by a beach and the north by the dividing channel. This shelf in turns falls away to a marvellous low-lying area of sand, rock and grass that encloses a large pool of water.

Paths – stone, wooden and grassy – wind gently through this rugged landscape, passing under the boughs of trees and between beds of flowers, leading the way to multiple points of interest, be they the wide swath of sandy beach to the west, a waterside walk around the inner pool of water, the stone terrace that sits in a fold of land that the water clearly once cut into, or the heights of the rocky tables south and east.

Scarlett Isle, July 2019 – click and image for full size

A tall wooden cabin sits on the rock above the landlocked pool, looking westward over the peaceful waters and the beach beyond them. Open to the public, it resides among a copse of olive trees, weeping willows and silver birch that form a curtain of green around it, naturally shielding it and giving it a sense of privacy without actually isolating it from the surrounding landscape.

From here, a wooden board walk offers a way down to the southern curve of beach, while the meandering stone path that connects the cabin with the landing point and the rest of the island continues up the slope to the humped top of the turtle-like hill. This is marked by a great oak tree, a small swing slung beneath one of its great boughs. Surrounded by a wash of blue and white flowers, it is an ideal spot for quiet contemplation.

Scarlett Isle, July 2019 – click and image for full size

Two bridges span the channel separating the southern island from the northern. One is a wood suspension bridge slung across the region’s highest points – the northern island being, on average, higher than the southern . The other bridge is a simple affair of logs dropped over a lower-lying point of the channel’s banks.

The bridges invite exploration for the northern island – a curbed path winds away from one, and a grass track marked by stone steps runs up the slope from the other. However, do take note that the two buildings located on the northern island  – one sitting close to the suspension bridge and the other off to the north-east at the end of the winding curbed path – are protected from casual visits by security orbs. These offer 15 second warnings – but given the About Land description invites exploration in the region, a couple of signs given advanced warning of the private nature of the houses perhaps wouldn’t go amiss.

Scarlett Isle, July 2019 – click and image for full size

A large meadow arcs around the north coast of the region between the north island’s two private houses, and a path winds down the cliffs from this to another beach, this one running around the north-east headland of the island. The beach is also open to the public, but, care is again needed when following it along the eastern coast to where a stepped set of decks can be found. These are within one of the private parcels, and it is actually very easy to miss the security orb’s warning on reaching them; so again, a warning sign might help prevent people finding themselves unexpectedly teleported home.

This grumble aside, there is no mistaking the sure beauty of Scarlett Isle. Its look is incredibly natural, and offers a feeling of a wild, but well-cared for garden environment. Throughout the islands are plenty places where this natural beauty can be appreciated, from deck chairs and blankets on the beach to swings under boughs to chairs sitting in the shade of parasols on that stone terrace, or benches sitting on rocks or grassy bank and more. All of which sits within an ideal sound scape that makes Scarlett Isle an almost perfect visual and aural experience. Those taking photos are invited to share them with the region’s Flickr group, and a fee of L$150 provides rezzing rights via the local group.

Scarlett Isle, July 2019 – click and image for full size

With thanks to Shawn for the pointer and LM!

SLurl Details

• Scarlett Isle (Love Cats, rated Moderate)

Hallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1, July 2019 – click and image for full size

Update: Norddeich appears to have closed and the host region is now private.

Following a recommendation from Shawn and Max, we dropped into Hallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1. A Homestead region designed by Svenja Maass (MinAleiga), it offers a slightly untamed feel of a coastal region which, given the name, I couldn’t help but wonder if it took its inspiration from Germany’s East Frisian coast and islands.

I’ve no actual solid reason for stating that it does – other than the presence of Norddeich in the title (Hallig being “exuberant”), but should that be the case, then it would certainly be appropriate; the islands along that stretch of coast, together with their cousins along the more northern aspect of the Wadden Sea coastline, have given rise to the naming of a number of places in Second Life, including Norderney and Amrum, both of which have featured as destinations in this blog.

Hallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1, July 2019

While the physical world Norddeich is a coastal area, this one is quite clearly an island, one among a group that rise from the sea, although its neighbours are a good deal more mountainous in appearance – and a good deal more rugged than the Frisian islands (East or North).

With their rugged faces and lack of trees, these off-sim island give the region something of a Scandinavian feel; were that more joined, it wouldn’t be too hard to imagine this to be a remote island sitting within a fjord. Hence why, perhaps, the hint of Norwegian influence in the region’s name as well (being the name of the road leading up to the Geiranger Skywalk).

Hallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1, July 2019

The region is split into two islands – the smaller of the two forming the landing point, and the larger the main point of exploration / interest. Both are low-lying, a wooden board walk spanning the narrow channel between them. Save for the shack of the landing point, an old, bent tree and a few shrubs, the smaller island has little to entice visitors to stay, marking it as the perfect spot for the sea lions occupying a small deck on the island’s north side to enjoy a little peace and quiet.

Across the board walk, the larger island is equally low-lying. Ringed by a thin band of sedimentary sand, much of which would appear to be under water at high tide, the core of the island is buttressed by humpbacked cuesta, marking the point where the softer sediments of the beach give way to harder rock the sea is talking a lot more time to erode.

Hallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1, July 2019

On the west side of the island, the sea has had a little more success in cutting into the land, forming a shallow, sandy cove that has been set out with beach chairs, blankets and deck chairs, the flags fluttering above it indicating the area is safe for bathing but surf boards or other types of board-based spots / floatation devices are not permitted.

With few trees – the main vegetation being grass and hardy shrubs – the island offers a strange mix of buildings suggestive of this once being a place of work. Two of these sit towards the middle of the island, and have a definite industrial vibe to them. However, the larger – which may once have been a long storage shed – is now a bar, presumably here to keep those visiting the island for its beaches refreshed. Separated from it by a little outdoor drinking area and a greenhouse, the smaller of the two units has been converted into a cosy little home that looks out over a rutted track to where sheep graze in a large, fenced field.

Hallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1, July 2019

The track – one of a number rolling across ver the uneven landscape, runs past the two buildings to connect the beach to the west with a wharf to the east, a branch also connecting it with the board walk to the landing point. The wharf is clearly a place of work – the keel of a boat is being laid down inside the boat shed and a fishing boat with fish in its holds is tied-up alongside.

With multiple spots located around the beaches where cuddles and seats can be enjoyed, the region also offers other little spots for shared moments, indoors and out (try the gate into the sheep field for example). There’s also a suitable sound scape to round things off, making this an enjoyable place to visit and photograph – the latter being added by the inclusion of a cloud scape as a part of the region’s off-sim landscaping.

Hallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1, July 2019

SLurl Details

• Hallig Norddeich, Nibbevegen 1 (La Puerta County, rated Adult)