putting things on paper

The weather has been less than ideal the past couple of months. Yesterday was one of the nicer days lately, and I was working. Rain is supposed to come in Wednesday night, which means it will flood. Did I mention our governor prayed on the courthouse steps during the drought? Have I mentioned how I think it's time for him to take it back?
Anyway, since tonight was probably the last nice evening before a new batch of rain, I got out of work a little early and drove by Mt Harmony Cemetery, where our friend Harold B. is buried. I blew him a kiss as I drove by, then entered the back of the property. There's a pond there, at the bottom of a steep hill and halfway up the hill is a small road where I like to park. From there I walk around the property, trying to be quiet enough to coax the birds from hiding.
I think it would help if I wore tennis shoes instead of dress shoes from work. CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICKCLICKCLICK kind of makes an entrance in the middle of a quiet urban cemetery.
I know I could tell you I saw ANYTHING, because I wasn't able to get any birdie pictures, but I saw, for the first time, a Belted Kingfisher. You can rest assured that I saw one though. I confirmed from the bird call and from a visual. How can you mistake a bird with a hairstyle like that? He was really mad that I was there.
I haven't spoken about my plans lately, but I have been putting things on paper, thanks to www.SCORE.org and their online templates. The most daunting form is the Dreaded Business Plan. This template has about 150 questions, and when you answer them, those answers form the basis of your business narrative.
So here's a few facts you may not know: There are 46 million birders in the U.S. They generate $32 billion in retail sales. This creates $85 billion in overall economic output, meaning that if, for example, someone goes birding at a local reservoir, they pay the fees to get into the reservoir, and buy water and sandwiches for the trip. With this, birders generate $13 billion in state and federal income taxes and result in 863,406 jobs created.
I'm of the opinion that I could at least pay my rent (or future mortgage) with some of that.

--Laura