Nordan om Jorden (Flickr)

Fellow blogger Kate Bergdorf recently announced that following a winter make-over, she was opening her homestead region, Nordan om Jorden, to the public. Ever the one to explore pastures new, I hopped over to take a look.

The layout of the regions is deceptively simple, presenting a rural environment suggestive of a coastal farm in the midst of winter, snow heavy on the ground, trees pointing naked, gnarled branches towards the sky. A hardy, and late-growing crop sits within a field, offering a warm splash of yellow against the cold white of the snow, while a tractor sits on the edge of the field, the conditions on the ground not entirely conducive to harvesting the crop.

Nordan om Jorden (Flickr)

Beyond the field, horses wander through the snow, hay bales offering them something to munch on, while a rutted track, the snow within it furrowed, leads the way around a tall rocky outcrop, a gap within in providing access to the far side of the land.

Here sits a beach house sitting back from a sandy beach not entirely lost to the encroaching snow. Lights hang from the boughs of trees and a panic bench offers a Thermos of something hot to drink from the hamper beside it. Inside the beach house is a place to sit and a warming fire for those feeling the pinch of the cold.

Nordan om Jorden (Flickr)

As noted above, this is a deceptively simple design, which offers a number of little winter vignettes with the fenced crop, crows wheeling overhead, the tree-lined track, the horses wandering across the snow, and sheep penned by walls and fencing … all present their own photo opportunities which at the same time coming together to paint a complete picture. For those who are feeling active, there are a couple of rezzers which will provide you with a sled on which you can ride across the snow, while the beach house offers a quiet place to sit and talk.

At the time of writing, one part of the region is closed to visitors. This is the southern part of the island, reached via a stone bridge. Called Floodwood, it is currently still being worked on (hence being closed) and I understand that Kate plans to offer rentals there for those looking for a place to live.

Nordan om Jorden – BERG gallery (Flickr)

Another point of interest for visitors lies not on the ground, but up in the air over the region. This is Kate’s new art gallery – BERG. This is located in a cosy skybox offering an intimate space in which work by invited artists can be displayed. You’ll need to use the SLurl in the link above to reach the gallery (at least for now), as there is no direct TP from the ground. At the moment, examples of Kate’s own work are on display, but the plan is to feature artists on a three-month rotational basis. The gallery will likely focus on – but not necessarily be limited to – fine art photography, fashion photography, landscape photography, erotic photography and portrait photography.

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