W W W. D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA NA . C O M
9
S
O, DEAR READER, DID YOU ENJOY YOUR MONTANA SUMMER?
You know, the season between this year's chilly months of June and
early July, and our (new) three-week fire season, along with the Labor
Day end-of-summer weekend? Yes, as summers go, this one shot by like a
sports car on the Hi-line; and now we are left with autumn to finish 2018
with its brief mosaic of color, lusty weather, and that certain, settling stillness
that one experiences before the madness of the holiday season.
And why do we rarely hear the word "autumn" anymore? e word itself
wandered into England in the 14th century, a remnant, many believe, of the
Etruscan tongue, but most certainly of the Romans, who distinguished it
from "harvest," an extra season of their own making. But what we hear today,
most often, is "fall," also originally from English poets of the early 16th cen-
tury who (surprise!) associated it with the downward spiral of leaves in the
vast forests of that time. "Fall" managed to be both poetic and prosaic.
In any event, we are fine with either word—your choice. Autumn or fall,
it is one of the most interesting and lovely times to be in Montana. e
sunlight at the edges of day glint in scant, razor-thin shards, the vegetation
morphs to crisp and colorful, the wildlife seems both earnest and aloof in
preparation for the first frost; and the people of Montana, and some very
smart visitors, enjoy less crowded rivers, roads, trails and national parks.
Our advice? Be outside. A lot. Follow your instincts to play, hike, raft, fish
or hunt, or simply sit and take in our state's autumnal beauty. It's simple, it's
just fall-ing for Montana.
BILL MUHLENFELD, PUBLISHER
bill@distinctlymontana.com
ANTHEA GEORGE, PUBLISHER
anthea@distinctlymontana.com
A N O T E F R O M T H E
P U B L I S H E R S
a
Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor,
summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.
~ STANLEY HOROWITZ, POET
DON
POWELL
