there be bears...

...not only in the hills but statues adorning farm gates.
The entrances to many ranches and farms are very fine with all sorts of decoration in iron and wood and this one no exception.

The poor old bears and other animals are so confused by bushfire smoke drifting in from western state fires and filling valleys and shrouding mountains... hence the misty horizon.
They are coming down to the inhabited valleys and folk are getting a tad twitchy. A black bear has killed and eaten a llama (MOST unusual for bbs to be so aggressive apparently) and a juvenile mountain lion was reported in today's paper as having been tracked and killed after attempting to snack on a pet pooch.

Always a difficult debate to have (goodness knows Australia has an ongoing one about sharks, surfers and swimmers).