Take Them With You, Mr. Ford...

It was simply a matter of time.

Apparently Montana is too cold for Harrison Ford.

Ford was one of the main characters in the “Yellowstone” spinoff “1923,” which was filmed in Butte. However, according to the Austin Business Journal, the show is packing up and heading to a film studio in Austin, Texas.

If only all the recent transplants to Montana, lured here by the “Yellowstone” series, would follow suit.

Weather used to be one of the major factors in keeping out the riff-raff. Montana was a fine place to visit in the summer during the 100-day tourist season, but come Labor Day it was time to leave. Some of the well-heeled returned for winter sports, but they didn’t stay long.

Then covid struck, followed closely by “Yellowstone,” and all of a sudden Montana became the place to be all the time. Climate change didn’t help. Summers started early and lasted late into the fall.

“What delightful weather,” the newcomers thought. “We should move there.”

And move they did, flocking to the already crowded Flathead and Gallatin valleys. The price of look-a-like tract homes skyrocketed, pushing the natives out of the market.

Then the spring of 2024 arrived and with it came hope. It’s rained or snowed nearly every day this spring. Temperatures have remained below normal. Snowstorms in recent days have closed both Homestake and Bozeman passes.

It’s still too cold to plant a garden and it’s nearly June.

Not that that’s unusual. We could easily have another month of this weather before it dries out and starts to burn.

And don’t forget the grasshoppers. While much of the country endures the racket of noisy cicadas this summer, Montana will be playing host to a crop of insects so numerous they show up on radar and eat everything in sight.

At least it won’t be cold by then. Chances are far better it will be sweltering and smoky.

But that could change. We’re due for an early fall. Snow in September is common out here.

We can only hope that the recent migrants to Montana follow the lead of Harrison Ford and leave. Texas is where they really want to be.

Parker Heinlein is at [email protected]