Pebbles on the Shore
Several times a year, I escape to a very special place, Cultra, Co. Down, on the shoreline of Belfast Lough. Some day I hope to distill the wondrous scents of Cultra - the lightly salted air with fragrant notes of fern, wild flowers and herbs, morning dew and wisps of peated smoke.
This all accompanies the gentle crunch of pebbles underfoot on the sand as I walk along the lakeshore, and the wondrously loosening sound of the foamy waves lapping and biting on the stones, washing up tiny twigs, shells and strips of seawead.
The low light sweeps over the surfaces like a searchlight, illuminating shimmering facets of moving water... as the bay sweeps in towards the port, a flare of white, cream and rouge bisects the scene, with pearls of seafoam blending with the pebbles on the shore.