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Dornoch Beach, Sutherland. (Credit: Venture North)
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Always by the Sea

By Ann Goodwin Kerr

Ann's beautiful, autobiographical journey stone.
Image provided by Ann Goodwin Kerr

A coastal scene along the northern shores of the Dornoch Firth where each object represents my life’s journey.

Sea Thrift - found in coastal areas across the northern hemisphere where I’ve lived and worked for 69 years; San Francisco Bay, Humboldt Bay, California; Oban Bay, Loch Etive, Loch Linnhe, Firth of Forth, Moray Firth, Cromarty Firth, Dornoch Firth, Scotland.

Sea Pottery & Seaweed - a lifetime spent picnicking and beach combing, Thank you Dad and Mom.

Railroad - the Far North Railway Line runs between whisky distilleries and the shores along the Dornoch Firth. Train travel much loved by my mother and husband. Distillery- Glenmorangie & Balblair whisky distilleries sit beside the Dornoch Firth. Husband and daughter were film extras in the movie “The Angels’ Share” directed by Ken Loach.

Oyster shell - the fragile marine habitat and it’s unseen and often abused eco-system. Native oysters “flourished in the (Dornoch) Firth 10,000 years ago” and were then “wiped out in the 19th century due to over fishing.” In 2017 oysters were reintroduced to the Dornoch Firth by DEEP (Dornoch Environmental Enhancement Project; Marine Conservation Society, Glenmorangie and Heriot-Watt University).

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