I found the gate to that Secret Garden and went inside to a landscape gone amok in the most wonderful way.  Where surprises sprouted in every direction, creatures collided in midair and fell down laughing, color sang and played.  I felt at home and so I stayed. ~ Found on pinterest by Aimee Myers Dolich…artsyville.etsy.com

Grab a cup of coffee, tea, a soft drink or whatever floats your boat.  This is somewhat of a long read.  I hope you enjoy♥

One afternoon while doing a search on Marketplace…I forget what the search was about; anyways…I was scrolling, scrolling, scrolling and all of a sudden stopped and stared for a moment at the small image before me.  Clicking on the image as I was curious and wanted to see more brought me to the information page and more images. Looking at the images intrigued me even more and so I took the offered TP to the item.

Moving off the landing point a little ways I waited for everything to rezz.  In fact I went and fixed a cup of tea (Irish Breakfast) while my computer loaded the image. Returning and glancing down at the computer screen I did nothing short but stop dead in my tracks, slowly felt for my chair, sat down and continued to stare at the image before me. There on the screen in all its HD (high-definition) glory stood a grand old house the likes I have never seen in Second Life.

The house is billed as ‘A luxurious 1930’s Colonial Villa’ and standing there staring at the exterior I could almost swear the house spoke saying, “Hello Cougar.  Won’t you come inside? I have been waiting for you.”   Moving up the walkway and to the covered portico I stepped inside and knew in that moment this house would be mine.

There were several rooms to tour.  More than enough to satisfy my decorating addiction, my habit, my ummm…oh hell just spit it out Cougar!, my addictive decorating habit. That day found me lingering a while inside “My House” as my brain went into overdrive. I could have stayed there longer but returned home without purchasing and thought about all I had seen.

To show the house and grounds the way I visualize it would require a major renovation to Lost Horizon. Actually, I would have to start from scratch. Did I want to do that? Could I pull this vision off?  I thought long and hard for all of maybe one day and in the end the house has become mine lol.  It sits empty though while I work on the land and I have to admit this is my most ambitious project to date. I terraformed the land once everything was picked up, didn’t like what I did and started over again. It’s been a long process and focusing on this project has required my complete attention.  I felt with the renovations that Lost Horizon deserved a bit of a back story (better late than never).  So with that in mind…

The day dawned bright and warm and the soft breeze that blew brought a hint of the salty sea to her nostrils and Cougar experienced a strong need to explore.  Having become quite the sailor of late, she braided her hair, tossed on a pair of cutoffs along with a crop top, deciding to barefoot it and packed a lunch just in cases, grabbing her camera as an afterthought.  As she headed to the boat slip swinging her lunch basket in her hand, Cougar felt a sense of something wonderful waiting to be discovered and was anxious to be off.  Checking and double checking  the instrument panel, radio and lines Cougar was off and slipped silently into the main channel and felt a rush of excitement as the wind caught the sails.

An hour into the voyage found Cougar at the helm smiling as she felt the salty spray of the sea caress her face and for a moment she let her mind wander. Suddenly the air seemed to change and grow heavy as if electrified. The wind picked up and grew stronger, cooler and off on the horizon a strange storm cloud formed.   Cougar thought “If I turn around now I might get back to the boat dock before the storm hits”, and  to Cougar’s surprise no matter how hard she tried, the wheel would not respond.  It was as if the wheel was frozen and nothing Cougar tried would make the boat respond.  The sailboat stayed its course, headlong towards the cloud.

“Nothing to do but batten down the hatches” Cougar thought, and so she busied herself in preparation of a very bumpy ride.  Having tried the radio, hearing nothing but static, Cougar stowed everything safely and again stood at the helm trying to take control, but to no avail.  The boat remained on a collision course with the cloud.  As the sea tossed the boat about, for a brief moment fear sprung up, but then Cougar heard a long forgotten sound. It came softly at first, from the direction of the cloud and then seemed to surround her.  It was haunting and soothing and she felt herself relax, growing calm and serene.  Being calm and serene was the last thing she remembered as she felt herself being tossed over the side into the abyss.

She awoke to the smell of earth beneath her, the sound of birds singing and…was that whale song she heard?  Struggling to a sitting position and looking about Cougar saw that the grass was lush, flowers in colors of the rainbow blossomed everywhere and the trees…the trees were ancient and hung thick with moss. Sunlight shimmered here and there through the thick canopy. About fifteen yards straight ahead Cougar noticed an ornate gate.  It looked ancient and appeared to be made of gold.   On the gate hung a scroll of parchment paper which was addressed to Cougar? “What on earth is going on here?”, she thought to herself.

Having some difficulty standing at first, Cougar found her land legs and walked somewhat steadily towards the gate where the scroll hung.  She reached out to grasp the scroll and paused for the briefest of moments before taking it. Indeed it was addressed to Cougar and bore a wax seal that appeared very old in design and vaguely famliar. Breaking the seal she unraveled the parchment and began to read, her smile growing wider with each sentence she read…

Through the garden gate, up the stairs and a short walk through the woods you will find shelter.  We have taken the liberty of providing you with a few items for your immediate comfort as well. You surely have many questions and those shall be answered in due course.  If you require anything, paper and pen are located in a box just inside your shelter.  Please leave your correspondence attached to the garden gate and your needs will be attended to promptly.  Welcome  Cougar Sangria. We rejoice that you have finally come home.

                                                          Respectfully,

Your Guardians

Smiling to herself, she rolled the parchment carefully holding on to it in one hand. Taking a deep cleansing breath Cougar reached for the key in the lock of the gate and turned. With little struggle the lock gave way, the gate swinging open with ease as if oiled recently.  The surrounding forest and animals watched with interest as she took a tentative step forward and crossed into the secret garden…

I would like to thank:

Heart Garden : WildWood Giant Oak Tree Forest Modules, Wildflowers Petunias, Rock Forms Maldive retextured

Atelier Visconti : Walls, Columns, Arches, Gilded Gate

[Tuff] : Medieval Ruins – Mesh, Stone Steps Light Pack – Mesh

[we’re CLOSED] : Grass Field Lush

meadowWorks : Apparatus of the Ancients, Fantastic Voyage Carved Stone Tablet, Dryad – Paradise

Selket Laville : Animated Deer Family

Mesh Plants : Pink Flowers, Mesh Falling Flowers FULL PERM

HPMD : Shrubs green, pink and yellow-green, Standing Rabbit M

Studio Skye : Creeper Rope included in Mushroom Rocks, Rocky Cliffs Building Set

The Cube Republic : Mesh Vines With Materials

Lolo Pet Shop : Free Flying Butterfly – Monarch

Post Script : When in the planning stages I just didn’t want a secret garden, I wanted to live inside a secret garden and that is what I continue to strive for. Ever so often I intend to publish snippets and after much thought have decided to throw open the doors to Lost Horizon once complete, but only for a short time.  Don’t hold your breath, it could be weeks away yet lol.  I am taking my time on this project.  Every beginning starts as a idea or inspiration. Here you can see the inspiration for my build.  It seems this was created from software. A virtual Secret Garden.  Maybe you will find your inspiration here as well 🙂