The Glitch Naturalist

Observing, documenting, and describing the fauna and flora of Glitch

[glitchnaturalist]

New housing means lots of cool stuff!

It's been a while since I posted here, and a lot's happened in Ur since then.  Our new housing has brought us furniture of many types, and some of the decorations available are flora and fauna from the various regions of Ur!

My favorite little salamander can be placed upon one's walls. Obviously, in the firebog section of my house, there are dozens of them all over the place. You can have their larval form as well, in a fishbowl!

For the paleontologically minded, a skilled Glitch can mount a fossilized fish from Mazza'la:

                            Fans of Uralia will not be disappointed either--in addition to various colors of Uralian ghosts (but only small, young specimens), one can keep the Uralian burrowing owl!

                                There are many more delightful new features to enjoy. Visit my tower to see some of the above creatures and lots of others.

[glitchnaturalist]

Some houses in the firebog have fishbowls in them!  They contain three golden tadpoles, larvae of the Mazza'la salamander. They don't swim around, they just hover in the water and blink a lot.

[glitchnaturalist]

Just a warning--be careful while mining in Pollokoo and Callopee. It seems that Zille has become restless, or could there be another explanation? Is the tiny ribcage in the rubble that of a pig, or does it belong to an unfortunate Glitch? How many grapes were squished in the cave-in? This incident raises many questions.

[glitchnaturalist]

Ground cover in Ix - Dark Side

The Dark Side of Ix has a very different ground cover than the Light Side. 

Dark Ix has a scaled substrate, easy to walk upon, yet shows no signs of wear.  So I wondered, does it possibly mean that the ground is simply the skin on some giant creature? I decided to ask native Ixopod Helga, who lives in Dark Ix.

Her response was disconcerting to say the least--not because I was right, but because she found my conjecture to be very amusing, and Ixopod laughter is, well, something I don't want to see again anytime soon. At least, I think that's why she was laughing.

Apparently, the ground cover is a type of succulent moss. The Ixopod term for it is "Scales of the Fhtagn". Helga translates "Fhtagn" as "dreaming". It was unclear whether the scales are used in some kind of sleep tonic, or what, but my attempts to get a sample were unsuccessful. At first, Helga tried to dissuade me from taking the sample, saying something about "Rejoice that he sleeps!"  I figured that it was a slow-growing, precious resource that Ixopods would rather not have exploited and overharvested by Glitchen.

I later went to East Spice to sneak a sample, but found the surface of the scales impenetrable to every attempt to even scratch them.  I would imagine that the Ixopods have some biochemical means to harvest what they need, since tools were not useful.

Further research is needed regarding the Scales, as my Glitchy sense tells me that there is a much bigger mystery to be uncovered here.

[glitchnaturalist]

Botia's Dream Realm Problems

Hi! I hate doing meta posts, but I sort of have to here. I haven't posted as much lately because my computer's currently not functional--I need a new power supply, or at least a new tip for the one I have, and I'm also broke.  So not only is my online time limited to what I can squeeze in using my spouse's computer, I also haven't wanted to fill up his hard drive with a zillion Snapshots from Glitch.

We just opened up a new business in the dream world, a picture framing store and art gallery, so I've been crazy busy helping spouse with that (it's his business, primarily)--and the designing and writing gland has been sucked nearly dry with the work I'm doing there. He is good at building and picture framing; I have to do the signage, displays, website, marketing, social media, ad copy, postcard design, computer stuff, all that kind of stuff.

So I'm squeezing in my Glitch where I can, because it's awesome for helping me relax, but I've let my tumblrs languish a bit.  That'll get better once my computer is usable, especially now that I'm over the big hurdle of opening the store and getting our first marketing projects completed.  But I keep finding more awesome things that need to be here in The Glitch Naturalist, zZz Glitchen, Wild & Glitchy, and Quick Glitch Tips.  Also, I accept submissions, but I MIGHT be a smidge lazy about getting them processed and approved for publication :) But they'll get there, so keep 'em coming :)

[glitchnaturalist]

Ground cover in Ix - Light Side

Ix has a light side and a dark side, and one of the most fundamental differences between the two is the ground cover (yes, pun intended). In Light Ix, the ground cover is pointy:

In addition to the ground cover, please note the very handsome Frindle Tree in the foreground. He would appreciate your admiration; the next time you're in Groddle Ladder, where he lives, say hi to him!

Anyway, back to the pointy ground bits! If you've ever been to Light Ix, you'll notice that, although your feet aren't bleeding from walking on the ground, the bits don't get trampled either. This is False Caltrops, a spongy lichen that is a symbiote of algae and fungus. It springs right back up when stepped on, and can use both photosynthesis and decaying matter to sustain itself.

The latter ability, to pull nutrients from dead things, is very important here--more trees die in this part of the world than any other, so the lichen not only feeds on the sawdust, it also is able to digest and tolerate the high concentration of poison that has seeped into the soil here.

[glitchnaturalist]

A friend kindly allowed the author to take this shot in his home. The bowl contains three adorable larval Mazza'la salamanders. Salamander larvae are called tadpoles, just like frog larvae, but they are never visible in the wild due to the opacity of the water. Many firebog homeowners have a bowl of tadpoles. They rarely move, but they do stare out and blink a lot! The higher end homes do not have the bowls, sadly; they do, however, almost always have an adult salamander creeping around somewhere (often on the ceiling!).

Edited to add: The plant to the left is green glowvine, the very first item ever covered in the Glitch Naturalist! It's kept in a lot of firebog homes because it's so pretty.

[glitchnaturalist]

Rainbow phenomenon!

A pillar of rainbow light shoots up from the ground, where a potion had been spilled. Spilling it was not an accident--they are made for spilling! They create the rainbow light, which can let Glitchen jump higher than if they were using spinach. You just jump into the light, and whee! Away you go into the sky! Murri demonstrates in Konkan Carom, Salatu:

They are very much like the bouncing effect found in Toxic Moon and Kristel Kaos, but the potion eventually wears off. Do you have any rainbow potion photos to share? You can post them here!

[glitchnaturalist]

Oh--and in Eastern Approach, there's this lighter view :)

[glitchnaturalist]

Someone was looking for a moon in Ur. There's a small crescent moon in Cebarkul, and this large, lovely one in Ilmenskie (both in Uralia). The Ilmenskie view also has lovely platforms for Glitchen wanting to take photos of themselves with the moon!

[glitchnaturalist]

DNA sighting

What is this mysterious blue flame? It's DNA! A new quest has us searching for our roots, which apparently are lodged in giant DNA. Every Glitch has a bit of DNA from each giant, and we have been tasked with locating the DNA. It appears as a tiny blue flame, which is exceptionally lovely in the firebogs:

Other Glitchen report a strange sound when they enter a street which contains a DNA strand for them (and not every Glitch has DNA on the same street; it's different for everyone), while those who have hearing difficulties are unable to hear it--we must instead use Eyeballery to explore every nook and cranny of every street in Ur. Fortunately, some Glitchen have taken pity on the hard-of-hearing and posted lists.

Note the big fish fossil in the background! This is in Nilpsama, Shimla Mirch, should you wish to view the fossil.

You can post your photos of DNA here, if you like.

[glitchnaturalist]

Tablelands of Rasana

Rasana is the Grumbla Rim, where the high mountain zones fall away into plateaus leading down to the steppes and forests found in lower Grumbla. Rasana has breathtakingly sheer cliff faces and lots of natural stone bridges. The climate is arid and often chilly; there isn't a lot of plant diversity, but it is less sparse than the highlands and savannahs.

Ghara Gulley:

Mincedoathe Formation:

[glitchnaturalist]

Snow in the highlands of Aranna

New streets in Aranna show a great deal of snow--not just on the mountain tops, but on the ground in lower areas as well.  Could this mean that the imagining of a winter wonderland lies in Ur's future?

Baddam Haddam:

Gongura Gamble:

Mina Misses:

Senaga Siren:

Vaaka Kala, where a snow-dusted log serves as a bridge:

Note the light green trees in the photos; these are a cold-hardy variant of Grobla pine called the silver pine.

[glitchnaturalist]

The Rook in the Firebog

Shimla Mirch residents were dismayed to find a rook attack happening in Leeteg today. Dozens of Glitchen came to help out, but this rook was too powerful for us. Devs came on the scene and declared their powerlessness to stop the rook at this time; they would have to go into their dream world lives to find the tools and skills to make the rook vulnerable to Glitchen attacks.

Here are some rather spooky pictures of the rook flying free and unstunned around Leeteg:

[glitchnaturalist]

Mimosa Mix in Muufo offers a this stunning view framed in a natural rock archway. The vast forest of Grobla* pines is breathtaking, of course, but what makes this view perfect is the lovely Grobla elm just right of center. Broadleaf trees are uncommon in Ur, especially the Groddle and Grumbla regions, so they seem a bit more special when they do show up.

* Grobla is a portmanteau of Groddle and Grumbla. Since the two continents are so similar in ecology, it is possible that they were once joined, breaking apart after the development and spread of the many plants that they now share.

[glitchnaturalist]

Coming soon! A mycology series, with the assistance of Linnaea, our Mycology Consultant! Here she is in Ferncaster End, a street famed for its variety and abundance of mushrooms.

[glitchnaturalist]

The ground may be hinting at something. Is this the work of Zille?