Well, here is a somewhat different post from me today, a change from the poetry, and colorful parallel worlds and mystical love in a diary, that I have been dedicating this blog to recently.
As my friend Chrome Underwood says, “It’s always good to take a little break.”
I have lived on LINC Island (LINC stands for Life Is Not Complicated) in SL from the first day I entered Second Life at the end of 2007 and fell from Avatar Island into the world below. I have also lived on other sims too, but this was always my home base, and a little over a year ago, the owner just gave it to me one day and left SL for good. It has always been a public place, for romance, and beauty, sculptures, and art, and just a pretty nice little sim to visit with a friend. The main landing point was built in 2009 and was called “Misty Shores Memorial to Love and Beauty” That is what it was too, slow dances, fog, a dark Gothic gazebo to steal a kiss in, waves crashing and moaning against a rocky coastline. The sim was almost virtually unchanged since then.

Misty Shores Memorial To Love and Beauty

But in this virtual world, as in the big real one too, things change, and when they do we always hope that at least it will be for the better. I was struggling with keeping my island all on my own, as my other SL family members who were here with me,  from the beginning,began to leave, until I was the only one left. Many times we must swallow our aesthetic tastes, and for the sake of paying the rent watch a parking lot or a gaudy Mall go up next door on an adjoining parcel we just rented out, and I was already prepared psychologically for that event too.  I was spared this disaster by the greatest of good luck, in the form of a new friend, Happiness Merryman, who offered to take over half of it and do a joint project together with me. How much fun it is when two people have the same basic vision, yet each puts in their own seasoning to a delicious stew, that while still on the fire cooking (still under construction) is smelling very tasty indeed. The original Misty Shores has gone from darkly romantic to gloriously colorfully romantic, and at Midnight setting, it is ethereal and beautiful. We renamed it “Campo de Colores” “field or countryside of colors”.

Campo de Colores

We still have a lot to do, but it’s very much open to the public, while we keep working on it. There is a teleport system at the landing point that will take you to many of the older and unchanged original parcels on Linc Island like Kari’s Kantina del Mar( a seaside Bolero Bar) Renacer Sculpture Garden, The Cloud Forest, The Octopus Garden( a romantic undersea spot), Kari’s Pond of Peace,(a frog filled crickety night at the pond) and now Happiness is putting out drum circles, lots of cozy fire spots, and opening the sim up to light and color, romance, peace and meditation. I will include a few pictures below of different points of interest.

Renacer Sculpture Garden

You can still find some of the favorite sculptures of Scottius Polke too at the Renacer Sculpture Gardens and on the path leading there stop and play at the Drum Circle, or enjoy the Peacocks, great sounds of Nature and cuddles or meditate awhile at “Virtual Environments”

Virtual Environments

The Cloud Forest, has cozy spots to lay and enjoy, tables on a foggy bridge to drink coffee, a dance ball and the original Gothic Gazebo is now up here, so there is still that kiss to be robbed if you are so inclined  *smiles

The Cloud Forest

Take a chance and throw yourself off the Flying platform by jumping on  the Omega Star Dance ball, which holds 5 at a time and gives an amazing feeling of soaring and flying. It will dip you down under the water too, so keep your eyes open for the humpback whale.

Omega Flying Ball

The Octopus Garden, so named because it has several of them floating peacefully, at times aggressively, around the garden. It is the home of the humpback whale and my submarine abode which is open to the public as well. Blankets and places to explore, and cuddle, and of course the dance ball is fully water proof too.

The Octopus Garden

Kari’s Pond of Peace, where you can sit cozily and be serenaded by more than 15 types of toads and frogs and when you least expect it, you might be caught in a frog shower.(compliments of Menubar Memorial)

Kari's Pond of Peace

Below is the Bolero Bar where I hold a poetry reading on stream once a month, and the rest of the time, it has the greatest Spanish Bolero Stream, and a very well equipped bar and romantic Dance Ball, with little tables seaside.

Kari's Kantina del Mar

I will include a few more spots still being worked on, but all open for you to come and spend a relaxing time. SL for me and for Happiness, is about creating and collaborating and of course sharing the final product with anyone who lands on our island. So you are all most welcome to visit anywhere on the sim, and enjoy the fruits of this creative cooperation.

Happiness's Spot of Tranquility

Happiness's Spots of Tranquility

I will conclude this post, which by the way, is the first I have ever written specifically about the island I have called home for going on 4 years, with an invitation to visit us. The winds of change came in like a gentle breeze off the ocean, and transformed an island of romance, beauty, and art into another very beautiful version of itself. When you land at Campo de Colores Please pick up a free”Flower Float” which is an ingenious little vehicle, where you sit in a lotus position, and just hover over the ground, a fun and smooth way to explore the whole island. A special thanks to Nikita Weymann of Grimalkin Workshop for inventing this very elegant form of travel. Visit her shop and you will see you absolutely “need” to buy something. She has made things, no one has even imagined yet.

Please click a flower float as a gift, wear it and take off to explore

Float hovering through fields of Color

A special thanks to DB Bailey for the gift of a whole flock of his very colorful and oddly beautiful glass birds that now roam and decorate the fields.
Finally, I include one last picture, that Happiness took in one of the beautiful Glyph Graves Particle Sculptures. She is demonstrating the kiss balls in the center, which I find work much nicer if you have someone on the blue ball too, someone you really care about *winks at Happiness.

Campo de Colores with Happiness

Come Visit Us Soon. Campo de Colores LINC Island