late winter, late capitalism

i looked up today and noticed, not birds, but the fact that it's mid-march and the trees have yet to show any signs of "budding out," as Lisa and Carol the grounds management duo at my alma mater used to call the timid stirring to life of late winter trees. ugh. the days are lengthening however, the sun seems less of a fiction than it did a week ago.
i was brainstorming with S. about how we can make our hobbies into livelihoods. idle fantasies, perhaps, but why shouldn't we get paid for birding and theoretical physics? (him physics, me birding, OBVIOUSLY) I was thinking maybe i could lead trips into the forest, the prairie, etc to look for birds. With kids--teens,the tribe I most respect. Would they be into it? i think they would.
I found out the Trump International Hotel in Chicago will reach 1125 feet, with at least 80 storeys (less than the original 92, but the real estate is selling faster than bottled water on the surface of the sun, so it may go back up) and a long spire reaching toward the heavens. It will sit regally on the Chicago River, with a lovely surrounding river walk and a latticework of steel tubing on its silver reflecting glass surface. It will kill hundreds, perhaps thousands of migratory birds. You can view a photo of the plan here.