Karl and Kathleen Nichter Photography



This blog began in 2009, about a year after we started our photography business. People attending our photo exhibits, or our hikes and workshops, asked for details on where we traveled for photography. As naturalists we usually kept a field journal, so we used that as a basis for Field Notes.
In Summer, 2014 we took a break from the blog because our business, and lives were changing. In January 2015 the blog restarted with an expanded theme. It now contains photography, notes, and articles from all of our travels and all of our photography, not just nature themed. The posts prior to 2014 have been archived.

For more information, please click on "About Us" below.

Thank you for visiting.

Friday, July 10, 2015

Living Near the Gulf of Mexico

In December we celebrate our 17th year of living in our little house/cottage near the Gulf of Mexico. This is the longest Karl has lived in the same place, and nearly the same for me. We considered moving several times, but never found a place to compare. Starting in June we check the NOAA website daily for tropical storm and hurricane activity, our flood insurance has increased by a factor of 10 over the years, even though this nearly 40 year old house has never flooded to date, even through the storms. We made the house as hurricane proof as money and modern technology allows, but a direct hit and storm surge could still result in major damage. The area has grown incredibly since we arrived with more and more people making this their home, and winter traffic on the main road just outside our community is unbelievable.

So why are we still here? Quality of life, that is the only way I can describe it. We are both outdoor people and our small fenced backyard dominated by a concrete deck and caged pool becomes part of our living space most of the year. We are both naturalists, and the creek behind our fence provides a home for many birds and animals. I can compile a pretty decent day list just sitting in our pool area reading on a Spring or Autumn day. When I run in the morning, I stand at the end of the road and look into the Gulf, seeing wading birds, the occasional nose of a manatee, the less frequent fin of a dolphin, the reflection in the water of a setting full moon, and I feel good. I know most of my neighbors, and they know me. Someday we may evacuate and come back to no house, but no one can take away the memories made here.

This scene greeted me a recent morning as I went outside the door for my morning run. I ran back in to get my camera, and Karl did the same. We both got good shots, this one of Karl's was the best, but a photograph still can't take the place of being there and seeing the towering clouds with many colors of white and gray and blue seeming to rise from the dark water of the Gulf of Mexico.


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