Friday, May 11, 2007

The Eagle, The Lake, The Bridge

Written 9 May, 2007

The Eagle, The Lake, The Bridge

Ben Franklin was all for making the wild turkey America’s national bird, but less wise heads prevailed, and our national bird became the carrion-eating bald eagle. I sometimes wonder how that choice has shaped our national character.

But no more politics in this blog, at least until the TSA does something really stupid.

But for all its petty nature, the bald eagle does look magnificent as it soars around the sky.

And besides, my neighbors Leaf Sherman and Armando Frangilli had one, and every time I saw it, I thought about how cool it would be to have an eagle riding the thermals above Pele’s caldera.

And so, in violation of the Endangered Species Act (do you know it’s illegal for an American to even own an eagle feather?) I took myself straightaway to Creative Fantasies and bought one. Now he (or she, how does one tell with an eagle?) patrols Pele, circling serenely some 10 meters above the topmost part of the Temple to Pele.

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A lesser landlady might have stuck a rental house on the 2K property that lay between the various rental houses on the east end of Forsaken, but I didn’t want to do that. And so at Sweetie’s suggestion I sunk the land and made a little lake. It features a rock-rimmed shore on which there are poses that let avatars dip their toes into the water, a sunken tiki face, a turtle, a fountain, a giant lily pad on which to sit or sunbathe, and a tiki private balcony from JC Designs for lounging with friends. There are float poses in the water and an expanse of huge prim flat rock that lies just under the surface for wading. A kiss and a dance are hidden somewhere on the lake.

The lake is convenient to the rental houses (three of which are now occupied) and the train station, although those walking over from Pele Rail will need to avoid the little pool of lava beside the lake.

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There’s now a bridge spanning the Forsaken River, raised to a height that will allow passage of water craft (with the exception of tall sailboats, but no worry, as moving vehicles are nonphysical anyway).

The center span was purchased from JC Designs, and is stunning, although quite high in prims. (I recently purchased a rope bridge at Svarga that, at 9 prims, will serve the same purpose, but it’s not nearly so beautiful, and I’ll use it only if the available prims drop below a safe level.

I rezzed a copy of the little tiki house in which my friend Melissa Y. now lives, unlinked it, and used the parts from the outside ramps to make ramps leading to the center section of the bridge. I finished by putting an inlay of tiles on the part of the ramp that faces the rail station and that was that.

1 comment:

Melissa Yeuxdoux said...

The Wikipedia article on the bald eagle is fascinating... on the average, the female bald eagle is larger than the male.

Evidently they mate in free fall, which would seem to imply that it's over rather quickly so they can separate and avoid crashing.