Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld

Toshi Farms – click any image for full size

We originally visited Toshi Farms back in , when the region was in the depths of winter. However, at the time things were such that I didn’t get to write about it, so when Shawn Shakespeare suggested we should go see the region now spring has arrived, it was added to the list of places we should see “soon”.

Designed by Syx Toshi and his SL partner Bryn Toshi (Bryn Bulloch), Toshi Farms is a homestead region designed as something of a public park, linked at it now is to its neighbour, Peace, lying to the north.  Whist “farm” might feature in the title, the design of the region is intended to be that of a nature reserve.

Toshi Farms

Bryn and I have tried to create a natural country setting that you would experience in RL. A Farm and Wildlife refuge where you might catch a glimpe of any of over 50 different animals.

– Syx Toshi, describing Toshi Farms

Caught in spring colours, both regions present an engaging and photogenic opportunity for exploration – although beware that at least a part of Peace a private home to Syx and Bryn.

Toshi Farms

Dry dirt tracks wind through both regions, offering clear routes of exploration, although there are paths to be found that depart from them, allowing  visitor to wander off the tracks. However, given that both regions are undergoing construction / update, be aware things might get shuffled about (the Toshi’s home, for example, uprooted itself and moved from Toshi Farm to Peace between two of our visits! 🙂 ).

Follow the tracks, and you’ll find some of the wildlife Syx mentions – bears, raccoons, birds; while horses, cattle and goats occupy the fields in both regions. Also to be found along the paths are places to sit and relax – benches, blankets on the grass, swings; while water tumbles through streams and hill mountains cast a protective wall around the setting.

Toshi Farms

Close to the bridge linking Toshi Farm to Peace sits a summer-house (or it did on my last visit! – As noted things are still being changed 🙂 ). Within it, a fire burns warm in the hearth and comfortable sofas await visitors, banks of flowers surrounding it on three sides. Climb the stairs to the little balcony above, and a blanket lies set with a picnic.  Walk down to the waterfront a short distance away, and a dock with kayaks gives the opportunity for those  who wish to take a trip out on the waters – say to the offshore diving platform.

One of the things that makes Toshi Farm attractive are the static characters that have been set out here and there. They bring a little life to the regions – although I’m not entirely sure all of the handymen working here and there are completely au fait with the tasks they have been given – although they do raise a smile on being seen.

Toshi Farms

A charming pair of regions (assuming Peace remains a public space – it is still under construction at the time of writing) that are pleasing to the camera’s eye, Toshi Farms makes for a worthwhile visit – and this shouldn’t be missed, even if Peace doesn’t remain a public offering for visitors. And given things are in a state of flux, more than visit might be in order!

SLurl Details

• Toshi Farms (Norton, rated: Moderate)

Authors Point – click any image for full size

Miro Collas suggested we pay a visit to Authors Point, a Homestead region designed by Xarl Bombastic (Xariell) and Weed Bombastic as both a region open to visitors and a residential offering. Rugged and rural, it offers a mixed landscape with some interesting quirks.

The island forms a table-like plateau, most of it raised well above the surrounding sea by cliffs, and split almost in two by a narrow gorge running from the south to the north-west to where it forms a pool. Part of the plateau top to the west sits a little higher than the rest, grass dried to gold by a summer’s sun, a flat head of hair for the rock, broken only by the occasional bent tree, knots of scrub hedge and a single, old warehouse building that listens the turning wheel of a wooden windmill and the gentle chimes of bottles strung from rope lines.

Authors Point

Two sets of stone stairs lead down from here. The first drops to the lower step of the plateau, home to more grass and an old piano , sheet music upon its stand. The second, longer stairway drops down to where a grass glade sits just above the waters of the sea and cosseted by the protective arc of rocky cliffs. Here can be found one of several places scattered around the region where quit times can be enjoyed.

Across the watery chasm cutting into the island, itself spanned by an old bridge, the larger part of the plateau stands as another flat head of grassland, this rich green and dotted with tall trees. A track loops around it,, running from and to the bridge, roughly following the line of the cliff edge.

Authors Point

On its way along the south-east cliffs, the track passes a second path, this one winding it way down the rock to coastal lowlands. Here sit five rental properties – so do be aware of people’s privacy should you follow the path downwards. A sixth rental unit faces them across the entrance of the gorge that cuts into the island. The fact the rental units are separated from the rest of the land by cliff and path means it is reasonably easy to avoid trespassing into people homes.

I say “reasonably”, because there is an exception: a tree house sits over the grassy table of rock, close to several point of public use. As such, it is easy to miss the fact is also a rental unit. However, stray too close and you will be curtly warned that it is by a security orb allowing you five seconds to move away. It’s an abrupt discovery that can be off-putting given the nearby carousel and other locations to sit scattered across the island’s top.

Authors Point

This is also a place of change – although how frequently this might be is hard to tell: on our first visit, we found a small Alice In Wonderland-esque tea party setting, complete with a hare (although not the March Hare) accompanied by a chipmunk standing-in for the dormouse. On my return 24 hours later to take photos, the tea party had been replaced by a collection of books, some of them suspended in the air under the spreading branches of a tree.

More stone steps descend down a cutting to the north, offering the way to a cinder beach and another cosy hideaways for couples or those wanting to be alone. Follow the beach westwards around a headland and you’ll come upon  another of the region’s secrets, again hidden from the land above by the curving arms of cliffs.

Authors Point

Two more houses sit on the northern side of the island. The first, mounted on stout wooden legs that presumably protect it from high tides that might otherwise sweep over the low-lying headland, does not appear to be a rental – but perhaps caution should be employed when exploring it, just in case. The second sits offshore, and appears to be a private home for Xarl and Weed.

Aside from the risk of bumping into the slightly abrupt security orb as a result of mistaking the tree house as a part of the public space, Authors Point is a pleasant, photogenic visit that may well stir the urge to write. Photographs are welcome at the region’s Flickr stream for those so minded.

Authors Point

SLurl Details

• Authors Point (Authors Point, rated: Adult)