Spring was in the air today and lots of birds were at the house per usual. My relationship with the birds has really evolved over the years, but there's still one boundary that they're not allowed to cross -- and that is pecking holes into the sides of the house. The birds are more comfortable than ever getting very close to me, but we both know what they're up to when the nuthatch jump from the trees to the house. The white-breasted nuthatch knew I was going to throw a snowball at him, and he flew near me to chirp and seemingly complain that I wouldn't allow it. The different calls are really funny when they're frustrated vs. happily foraging for pine nuts. I give the birds a certain call when they're crossing the boundary and it genuinely seems like we have a mutual understanding at this point. I'll miss them a ton when I move later in the spring.

But, I'm not the only one with boundaries. I spotted a nice group of bighorn sheep on the way back from my first trip of moving things out of the house. The bighorn were close to the road, so I stopped to try and get a few photos. They noticed me, but really weren't bothered at all. Some of them walked a little closer, but they were a good 30 feet above the road on some rocks. Their demeanor was relaxed as they grazed on fresh shoots of spring greens that recently emerged. I don't really like taking photos from the roadside, so I decided to walk a long ways away and come up the cliff a bit for a different angle. Even though I was nearly 1,000 ft away as opposed to maybe ~60 feet while on the road -- their demeanor changed in an instant. The ewes saw me from far away and pretty much immediately led the group to higher ground. I didn't come any further because it was pretty clear that I had crossed a boundary of theirs by leaving the road. Super interesting encounter for me, and really nice to see a good group enjoying the nice day.