Elen Tel'Ithil on Flickr: Posted a Photo 
And here's the picture of the lab that was dumped and has now been rescued!
I like this picture best of the two, just because he's so happy and photogenic! =) Everyone who responded to the email, though, mentioned one or the other of the pictures. I think that was one of the biggest factors in finding homes for them so quickly. (I think the other was that the attendance secretaries at BA High School know *everyone*!) =D Elen Tel'Ithil on Flickr: Posted a Photo 
One thing I've been up to this past week is finding a home for a couple of dogs that got dumped on our road. I sent this picture (and a picture of the lab) along with the email below on Monday (1-25). I'm also including the second email that I sent out yesterday (1-28) so that you guys can read about the happy ending! =)
-----Original Message-----
From: Bavido, Bonnie J
Sent: Monday, January 25, 2010 1:58 PM
To: #BAHS
Subject: FW: Beagle and White Lab
I know the last thing most of us need right now is another dog! =) However, if any of you do happen to be looking for a good dog, someone dumped two very nice dogs in my neighborhood last week. They’re both house trained, great with kids, get along well with other dogs, and the Beagle has already been fixed. People dump dogs in our neighborhood all the time, so our neighbors are already all full up, and we already have three dogs (the dog we originally moved here with and two that we’ve taken in since then). These two dogs want a family so badly, though; I really wish we could keep them!
The white lab stole my heart the first night when I was taking the trash down to the end of the driveway and he accompanied me there and back in “guard” mode. => The Beagle keeps getting more and more depressed, though. At first he would always try to jump in the car, and he would also watch for someone to come. But now I think he’s figured out that we can’t take him back home and his “family” isn’t going to come back for him, either.
If any of you can take in one of these dogs, or know of someone looking for a dog, I would love to hear from you!
Thanks so much!
~BonnieJean Bavido
Ms. Bavido
Math Teacher – Broken Arrow High School
Room K101 – ext. 4849
-----Second Message-----
From: Bavido, Bonnie J
Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2010 1:52 PM
To: #BAHS
Subject: RE: Beagle and White Lab (THANKS!)
Wow, guys! I have been overwhelmed by the response to this email and all the kindness and generosity that everyone has demonstrated! Both the dogs have found homes now! =) Basically, within 48 hours of my sending this email, each of the dogs had found a home – I hit the dog adoption “jack-pot” with BA High School and friends! =P Thanks so much everyone!
The lab went to a family whose lab had passed away last summer and that looked a lot like their old dog. I’ve heard back from them that he’s doing great and fitting in quite well – seems like a perfect match! =) So, thanks to Kasey L. of State Farm for taking him in (and for driving all the way out to Claremore to get him, too)!
The beagle went home last night with Clint and Sons – thanks so much to the four of you for also driving all the way out to Claremore to get him and for taking him in! As I mentioned, the beagle has been rather depressed, but you all should have seen him “light up” when those three little boys walked in the house! =) So, once again, he and the family seem like a perfect match. =)
Special thanks also to Rachel B., Ryan B., Cindy G., Phyllis S., Laura A., Sandy G., Melissa H., Gordon M., Nancy O., Kathy F., Rhonda M., and Angie for their concern and their help in spreading the word and their willingness and generosity! I’m sure a lot of other people must have also helped, but those are the people I’ve had individual contact with. I didn’t expect the email to go beyond Broken Arrow High School; so like I said, I’m just amazed. Thanks to all of you!
Stay safe in the ice and snow this weekend!
~BonnieJean Elen Tel'Ithil on Flickr: Posted a Photo 
Driving home from work on Wednesday evening, I saw this weird sight. Even though the cold weather had recently broken, the ice on the lake by my house was taking a while to melt. And there was this tire sitting there upright and all by itself on the ice! It just seemed to perfectly sum up how my week had been going.
Due to bad weather days during the week before, this past Wednesday was just the 6th day of school for the spring semester. Two of my students had already been suspended, one that morning and one the day before. Another student had come to my classroom that morning to return his textbook and to get his grade and my signature on his forms for dropping out of school (although, technically, the form is for withdrawing to get a GED...but statistically speaking, it's not likely that any of the students using that form will really get their GED's). And I had spent that afternoon, and the afternoon before, carefully drafting answers to questions that had been emailed to me last-minute for another student's annual IEP (Individualized Education Plan) review meeting (along with a last-minute request that I attend the meeting). The meeting was to be held before school the next morning, and I'd had to rearrange a detention that I'd already arranged for another student to serve with me that morning (and which had already been rearranged once before, due to the bad weather).
So, anyway, on Wednesday evening I had been finishing up the IEP questions and printing off progress reports, etc., when I tried to look up something about the IEP student's schedule and was told by the system that he was no longer one of my students! Nothing had been mentioned to me, and the student had been in my class that morning. Of course, the special ed teacher and all the counselors, etc., were already gone for the day, so I wasn't able to get ahold of them for any explanation. I was rather miffed by the whole situation, and almost decided to skip the whole thing when I realized that none of the emails from the special ed teacher had bothered to mention the location of the meeting. I'd only been averaging 4 to 5 hours of sleep per night, and I didn't really feel like having to arrive at the school even earlier than usual in order to traipse around from building to building across the huge campus in order to find a meeting that I hadn't been told about until the last minute and that I technically didn't even have a part in anymore.
So, yeah, that was my situation when I spotted this scene on the lake. Everything felt out-of-wack and a little freaky, just like this looked to me at that time.
*****
But the epilogue, so to speak, of this story, is that I *did* find and attend the meeting the next morning. I decided it wasn't the student's fault if the school was disorganized, and whoever his new math teacher was wouldn't know anything about him or his learning yet and probably wouldn't know anything about the meeting either.
I was glad I went. Sure enough, I was the only regular education teacher there from the high school, and those answers that I spent so much time on really did turn out to be pertinent and useful. I was also able to find out that the student was just moved from my class because it was more pressing for him to take a different subject during that hour in order to graduate on time.
*****
Looking at this picture again, now I see that this tire is defying the physics and the probability and statistics of its situation. I mean, what are the chances of a tire getting out on such thin ice without falling through, without leaving any trace of how it got there, and without falling over on its side? (And ending up in such a great spot for me to get a shot of it?)
What I hope and pray is that all five of the students I have just mentioned will defy all statistics and rise above their situations, just like this tire. I want them to finish their crazy journeys upright, standing tall and proud, having conquered their surroundings no matter what the odds. Elen Tel'Ithil on Flickr: Posted a Photo 
My sister Naomi, and Rosa our new pet bantam hen. Aren't they cute together!? =D
When some friends of ours rescued several dumped puppies, Rosa and her flock moved into the woods in protest, and then they disappeared. However, when our friends (and their dogs) went out of town, and temperatures dropped toward freezing, Rosa picked herself out a nice cosy spot in one of their sheds. When I went to check the house against the approaching cold front, I discovered Rosa and was afraid that she wouldn't last the night with the storm coming. So, I waited 'til the twilight deepened enough for me to approach and catch her, tucked her away in my trunk, and drove her home to our place. Rosa was quite the little lady -- she didn't even poop in my trunk! =)
And it was love at first sight between Rosa and Naomi!
Rosa is now quite tame. She sleeps in our laundry room at night, and she doesn't mind petting at all.
She is also one of the most clever bantams we've ever had. (And we think she may even prove herself to be on a par with such legendary Bavido hens of old as Eagle and Centromere!) She comes and calls to us and makes scratching noises on the rug at the front door whenever she's ready to come inside for the night. And even though she's so tame to Naomi, she cleverly escapes the attentions of the many neighborhood dogs who come courting. She even managed to fly up on a window sill and get my attention one day so that she could "tattle" on a couple of Dachunds from down the road that had snuck into our back yard. =)
P.S. Each of the shots in this mosaic is straight out of the camera. Elen Tel'Ithil on Flickr: Posted a Photo 
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...
The first snow of this season, just in time for Christmas! It's predicted to melt before the day is over tomorrow, but at least we'll get to wake up to several inches of snow! =)
For right now, though, it's pretty blustery and coming down rather fast. I got this picture from our front porch about an hour ago: you can see the golden glow from our cozy, lantern-style drive-way light and you can just make out the pin oak in our front yard.
And somebody just now went off the road and into the ditch. Not such a happy Christmas Eve for them. Samuel, Ethan, Naomi, and Joshua have all gone out to try to help them, but the ditches are so deep around here, I'm pretty sure it's going to require a tow truck.
Merry Christmas, everybody, and drive safe! =D Whatta Waist on Flickr: Posted a Photo 
Whatta Waist on Flickr: Posted a Photo 
She turns all the heads! Elen Tel'Ithil on Flickr: Posted a Photo 
(See description of previous photo in my photostream for explanation: www.flickr.com/photos/bavido/4215351122/ )
It turned out pretty nice, I think, which is why I wanted to be sure to claim it. ;-D Elen Tel'Ithil on Flickr: Posted a Photo 
When you have several people sharing a camera, and those people often have similar tastes in what catches their eye to photograph, you have to devise a method for telling your photos apart. So Samuel came up with the brilliant idea of simply snapping a picture of yourself each time you start a photo session. Then all pictures from your self-portrait to the next person's are your handiwork. Simple, fast, effective. We love it!
The only problem is that it can be hard to remember to snap a picture of yourself when you look out the window and the light from the setting sun is just perfect, and you dash around the house putting on Naomi's boots and Joshua's coat, grabbing the camera battery off the re-charger and recovering the memory card from Anna's computer... Well, I think you get the picture. =D
As you can probably guess, it wasn't until *after* I'd already taken a shot of the Christmas wreath outside (which it turned out that Anna had immediately previously been photographing) that I realized I'd forgotten to mark my territory, so to speak.
But that's okay! Now we have a new symbol to add to our digital intra-camera-user communication. Add a pointing finger:
Um, that one was mine, too.
**********************************************
P.S. This photostream has broken 200 views since my previous upload! Thanks, everybody!!
Hmmm...a candid self-portrait. Not bad for a trichster. =) whizbangokie on Flickr: Posted a Photo 
Main Street in Claremore, OK CycleDog on Flickr: Posted a Photo 
Petey CycleDog on Flickr: Posted a Photo 
CycleDog on Flickr: Posted a Photo 
Coffee and bikes, the perfect companions CycleDog on Flickr: Posted a Photo 
Alternative use for alternative transportation infrastructure CycleDog on Flickr: Posted a Photo 
N4VAL on Flickr: Posted a Photo 
UP 8045 eastbound approaching Jim Davis Bl ~ Claremore, OK Whatta Waist on Flickr: Posted a Photo 
Whatta Waist on Flickr: Posted a Photo 
Like big bowls of candy! Yum! Whatta Waist on Flickr: Posted a Photo 
Whatta Waist on Flickr: Posted a Photo 
See Michele...err. ..ummm..her backside anyways...working hard setting up her store www.prairiejeweler.etsy.com
OH that's her awesome "Nelli" manequin too btw.. |
