Autumn

Autumn

This is the most beautiful time of the year in Montana. Oh, spring and summer are fine, winters are a bit long, but autumn is the best. It can be the shortest season of the year squeezed between hot summer and cold winter. This precious time with its warm days and the cool nights are a welcome transition.

With the first signs of the season changing, I start thinking of all the needs to be done to prepare for winter. The patio furniture put away, the retractable awning covered, flower gardens cut and raked, extension cords set up for outside Christmas lights, screens stored, and hoses drained. The list goes on and on.

There are other autumn chores that are more fun than work. It’s time to get my hunting gear organized: clean the rifle, find the binoculars and hunting knife, run to the sporting goods store to purchase licenses. I need to be ready when the snow flies and the deer are in the rut.

My favorite autumn chore is when a friend calls and says the time has come to lay up some wood. He rents a hydraulic splitter and it’s to work we go. Watching that splitter do its job and tossing those chunks of wood and stacking in the garage gives me a sense that all is well. On those cold winter nights with the fireplace aflame, I am thankful for our labor with the splitter.

I can’t forget to mention the beauty of the leaves turning. Aspens changing from summer green to autumn yellow; maples shining bright red. A sure sign that life in Montana is heading for winter. Once the leaves are raked and the snow shovels are made ready, it is time to welcome winter.

Feeling nostalgic about the fleetness of autumn, I came upon a quote that gives expression to this time of change: “The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let things go.”

 I am watching.