kingdom-phylum-class-odor....

i'm outside listening to birds when i think, "what an interesting hobby bird-watching would be!" well, not interesting as in "this picture of chef boyardee making ravioli while wearing only one strategically placed red bow... is interesting," but interesting as in, "that jackie is always picking up new nuggets of information- she's so dang interesting!" that's what i was going for, see.

on a lark (pun intended), i decided to see how many kinds of birds are native to illinois. now, i would have guessed in the neighborhood of about eight or nine. i mean, you have your warbler, your sparrow, a robin or two, and your common owl, complete with spectacles and a library book. how many other freaking birds can there possibly be? go ahead. guess.

wrong.

there's 427 on the illinois checklist. i just don't have the kind of time to invest in such a complex project. i do, however, still want a high-powered set of binoculars. also, a glass of milk.