swift basenjis

No knitting progress to report. Being a tour guide is tiring. It’s much better to lie prone on my mother’s bed and watch the humongous TV that sits two feet away!
Yesterday morning I dragged insane brother out to the Basenji National Convention that just HAPPENS to be happening this week. We saw more basenjis than I have ever seen. They were having lure coursing trials where basenjis chase “rabbits” around a course. All the basenjis were so excited they were screaming. Really. THE SCREAMING OF THE LAMBS. Whoops, sorry, I got a little carried away. Here are a couple at the starting gate:

Another fun thing was riding back to my parents’ house in my brother’s convertible with the TOP DOWN. Yup, the weather in Portland is gorgeous right now.
My parents live across the street from an elementary school. For some years now, a particular type of bird known as a swift has come to gang up before heading south. They come in September and reside inside the school’s chimney before their journey. Every evening they begin to gather near the chimney, and just when it’s about to turn dark, they swirl in tornado-like fashion and fly into the chimney. It is a truly amazing sight, and people come from all over with their lawn chairs and picnic dinners to sit and watch. I tried to get photos, but they came out too dark. Here is a before photo, though:

Can you see any birds? By the way, to the right in the photo you can catch a glimpse of Mt. Saint Helens. Oh, and you can see part of loony brother’s car, too.