Portfolio

Utah - Martian Land 2

Here is a monochrome rendition of the same badlands.

Palace of Fine Arts

While waiting for the blue hour, got a nice post sunset colors

Utah - Martian Land 1

The many Martian like landscapes of the pacific south west

Downtown Toronto

A view of Toronto downtown from CN Tower

Juvenile Cooper's Hawk

Near my friend's place there was a nest and apparently couple of them have been wandering around. So with the help of my friend's camera to get some shots of this juvenile

Mt Shasta

A quick stop at a pullout en route to Klamath falls as Mt Shasta was basking in midday sun

Week 7

The week started off really well. We were slowly getting into a routine. Thunder would wake up and have a walk and breakfast. Then laze around with an occasional burst of play. Evening when the temperatures would cool down, we’d go for a walk and then have dinner. After dinner, it was either tug play or fetch. Every now and then he’d ask for another round of food. I mean this behavior is the first time I’ve ever seen, asking for food. All this changed on Tuesday. We finished our morning walk, breakfast and then sometime past noon, he became dull. That evening’s walk was slow and very lethargic. It seemed like I was forcing him. He refused his dinner that day. Now it has been close to two days that he has refused his food. Yesterday while petting him, I felt his lymph nodes have swollen again. Maybe I’m being influenced by his lack of appetite but it definitely feels enlarged to me. Based on his prior symptoms, he might go on for a week before he starts to accept any food. So I’ve kept the chicken breast to thaw and will attempt baked chicken as his dinner. There is a good possibility that he might take a bit of that if hand fed. So hoping he at least gets that in while we wait for the doc’s assessment. Thank you all for your wishes!

Stellar's Jay

This beauty kept coming to this perch but by the time I got setup, his visits were far less. I couldn't even manage a vertical shot and this is the best I got. Taken near Shoalwater Bay just a few miles from Klamath Falls

Week 5

It’s been another roller coaster ride kind of a week. On the bright side, Thunder got examined by his oncologist and he considers it to be almost in remission state. He still needs his oral chemo to be administered every 3-4 weeks. I was under the impression that it’d be a one-time thing. Now I know that this’ll be ongoing for some months. He got his dose today and we’ll have a recheck in 4 weeks time. There was some concern about his WBC count being low. He was on antibiotics and after two checks, the count is back to normal range. We were advised to stop the antibiotics and have another check next week. So after the results from his next testing, we’ll know whether to continue with antibiotics or be off of it completely. His appetite has been seeing highs and lows. There are days where he’ll go more than his normal daily consumption and on some days he’ll hardly have 25%. I’ve been very reactive to these variations and that has definitely got me drained. His vet confirmed that this’ll be an ongoing thing, so now I’m more prepared to handle it emotionally...I think. His prednisone is now made to be administered every other day. One of the side effects of it was heavy panting and in his case it was more than normal. Since lymphoma is in remission state, we’ll see how he fares when we cut his prednisone dosage by 50%. On his behavior, he plays more, has a bit more energy and I think it’s definitely increasing. Hopefully in some weeks I should be able to feel that he is at his normal levels. I’ve been trying to conserve his energy by not going to park, instead we do walks of about 5 miles. He really loves this and I can see him enjoying it. Probably will make a visit to the park this week just to progressively increase his workload. We are ending the week on a positive note and remain optimistic about the future. Thanks for all your wishes. It truly means a lot for us.

Week 4

This week has been a little tiring. We had to do his tests and we’ve some good news there. His lymph nodes appear normal. Calcium levels are in normal range. So these are good signs and definitely the result of his chemo. On the other hand, his WBC count is very low. Usually that’d mean he has some infection, but his temperature is normal. So his doc thinks that either he has some underlying infection or it could be side effects of Chemo. Either way he is on antibiotics for a week and we’ve another test scheduled tomorrow to check his wbc levels again. He was on Prednisone and that got over last wednesday. From that day, there has been a gradual decrease in his food consumption. So he was put on it again and the doc thinks that he might’ve to be on it for his life. A call would be taken after some time, but for now he is on it. It surely seems to have started to take effect and he had 1 and ½ cups of his food yesterday. We’ll see how it goes for the rest of the week. His energy levels too had decreased. But last night he seems to be back on track as he was playing late into the night. I had cut his park visits as I didn't want to tire him out with the running, but now that he has some food and energy, he might’ve just earned a visit to the park. On another node, Babar returned to his home on Sunday. It was a bittersweet experience. Especially when you see him rearing to get back with us, it’s very difficult to leave him at his home. But he has a family to get to, so reluctantly we had to return back. We all really thank Babar and his family for allowing us to share a wonderful time with him. Just in case you are wondering if Thunder’s appetite loss is due to Babar returning, I can assure you that is not the case. Babar was with him when Thunder’s meds got over. Over the span of 3 days there was drastic change. So though he feels sad for Babar returning, it was more to do with his meds and current condition. We’ll keep you all posted on the progress and really do appreciate your wishes. Thank you very much!

Week 3

We are at the end of 3 weeks. Thunder’s blood work has been scheduled for Friday and next week we get to visit his oncologist. This week has been the most promising of all. Progress has been made in different dimensions. Most of the gains have been noticed in Thunder’s appetite. He finishes 3-4 cups of his kibble. Since he kept eating Babar’s kibble, I ordered the same and that has definitely made a difference. Also a daily dose of baked chicken. During this week, Babar started to throw his tantrum of not eating his kibble. Not to worry, he is just being a picky eater as he gets to eat baked chicken :) Thunder’s energy levels have also got a boost. Though he is still not at the pace at which he runs, it has improved a lot. He can still outrun a couple of his friends at the park. He plays regularly at home too. We even got a bit of tug-of-war going. Babar has his own set of toys that he prefers and plays fetch. He is more talk though, doesn’t matter what time it is, he’ll make his presence felt. Overall, I’m very positive that his test results would be favorable. Thanks to all of you for your wishes. You folks have no idea how much it has helped us and we appreciate it very much!

Babar

The ever cute Babar with his tiny footprint and yet having blistering running pace

Dashing Babar

Babar running in full speed during his daily park visits

Thunder

Couple of weeks back, I was telling him that the lockdown has made him put on weight and the vet might tell me to get him on a diet to reduce his weight. Though I was joking, at that time I had no idea how things would pan out. Last week, he didn’t eat his regular food - which is a mix of Nature’s Domain kibble mixed with fish oil. His usual consumption varies from 3-4 cups a day. On days when he has had a good run in the field, he’ll go a bit more than 4 cups. On 11th May he had consumed only a cup. I assumed that it was due to his heartguard and nexguard tablets mixed with his food. Yeah, he hates those but eventually eats it. Tuesday he didn’t even eat a single cup. Just drank a lot more water than his usual intake. Wednesday, again the same thing. We got a little worried. My younger one suggested that he might’ve hurt his tooth while chewing on the antler. But it seemed fine to me. This continued till Friday. He became more dull as the week progressed. We got an appointment. The vet confirmed that his tooth and gums are fine. She mentioned that he has lost 6lbs. Another area of concern for her was that his lymph nodes were swollen. A bunch of tests and the worst news came to us; Lymphoma After multiple consultations with different oncologists, the common theme is that if chemo is effective, then he has 6 to 12 months, otherwise 4-6 weeks is the estimate. All the vets confirmed that he is not in pain and it's more like a feeling of having the flu. We’ve given him a round of steroids to boost his appetite and a round of chemo. We are hoping that he improves his condition. I’m not the religious kind, but in our current situation, I’ll take any prayers that gets him to eat so that the treatment is effective.

Falls Creek Falls

Sun beams through the falls mist makes for one gorgeous view

Lupine Blooms

Evening sun lighting up lupines in redwood national park

Zoom

When you are out in the desert and the light is gone, just have some fun with a zoom lens :)

Festvåg Fjords

Evening light hitting the fjords at Festvåg ferry dock

Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco

Palace of fine arts really comes alive in blue hour

Crested Hawk-Eagle

A crested hawkeagle perced on top of a dead tree with its glaring stare!

Sunset Burst

A view of Sierra mountains on a snowy day

Striking

Midday light can be really great for B&W images and during one of those times, this tree was just glowing at Milpond Recreation Area near Bishop

Chasing Sunstar

Another sunstar chasing which resulted some gorgeous morning light