Montana

Harmon's Histories: Autumn in Montana fills days with sunshine, poetry … and naps

Published

1 year ago

September 9, 2024

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Harmon's Histories: Autumn in Montana fills days with sunshine, poetry … and naps

By Jim Harmon

Autumn is my favorite season, except . . .

Except for what follows: WINTER!

Wouldn’t it be splendid if fall lasted a full six months, then transitioned effortlessly into spring?

The poets know of what I speak.

Sunshine on an aspen grove is one of the many delights of autumn. Missoula Current photo

Julie L. O’Connor’s “The Artistry Of Nature: A Poem On The Colors Of Fall” best sums it up for me:

“There’s a crispness in the air that greets the morning sun,
a feeling of anticipation, a new day has begun.
Harvest days are ending, winter is drawing near,
yet in between is surely the most special time of year.”

John Keats’ love letter “To Autumn” is another nod to the best season of the year:

“Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run.”

What a wonderful description of the season: “the maturing sun.”

The angle of the sun is best in autumn, warm yet not hot. I could stretch out in a lawn chair and spend every fall afternoon in the sun.

Little wonder that fall has inspired so many poets — such beauty! Missoula Current photo.

Then there’s Shakespeare’s Sonnet 73:

“That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.”

In fall, Shakespeare saw a reflection of himself – no longer a “fair youth.”

“You can see in me a reflection of the autumnal and wintry time of year, when yellow leaves, or none, or few, hang upon the trees; the branches of such trees are like the choirs in monasteries, since they were once home to ‘sweet birds’ who sang, but are now bare.”

As I am but a couple of years short of four score, I can relate.

Fall is awash in color along the Missouri River just outside of Fort Benton. Missoula Current photo.

Carl Sandburg’s “Theme in Yellow” captures well the sense of autumn, with a sense of humor, assuming the body of a pumpkin:

“I spot the hills with yellow balls in autumn.
I light the prairie cornfields orange and tawny gold clusters
And I am called pumpkins.
On the last of October, when dusk is fallen,
Children join hands, and circle round me
Singing ghost songs, and love to the harvest moon;
I am a jack-o’-lantern, With terrible teeth
And the children know I am fooling.”

I suspect poet Robert Gibb, like me, enjoyed sitting in a lawn chair every fall afternoon, soaking in the southern sun, writing “For the Chipmunk in My Yard:”

“I think he knows I’m alive, having come down
The three steps of the back porch
And given me a good once over.”

Ah, yes . . . autumn is such a wonderful time.

Given the season that follows, I’ll soon be in my cozy cave, hibernating, except when my lovely wife awakens me – but just long enough to send in my column.

Jim Harmon is a longtime Missoula news broadcaster, now retired, who writes a weekly history column for Missoula Current. You can contact Jim at fuzzyfossil187@gmail.com. His best-selling book, “The Sneakin’est Man That Ever Was,” a collection of 46 vignettes of Western Montana history, is available at harmonshistories.com.

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Montana

Montana State’s Taylee Chirrick earns second straight Big Sky Conference weekly honor

Published

5 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Montana State’s Taylee Chirrick earns second straight Big Sky Conference weekly honor

BOZEMAN — For the second consecutive week, Montana State sophomore guard Taylee Chirrick has been named Big Sky Conference player of the week, the league office announced Tuesday.

The 5-foot-11 product of Roberts scored the game-winning basket with 1.7 seconds remaining to lift the Bobcats to a 71-70 upset of Big 12 member Colorado on Sunday afternoon at the CU Events Center. Chirrick finished the contest with 21 points, which included a 7-for-7 effort at the free throw line.

Chirrick once again stuffed the stat sheet, pulling down a team-best six rebounds, while adding four steals, three assists and a pair of 3-pointers in the victory.

Chirrick is currently ranked third in the nation averaging 4.5 steals per game, and her 27 total steals rank 14th overall. Her 19.8 points per game rank second in the Big Sky and 28th in the nation.

Montana State opens the Big Sky Conference/Summit League Challenge on Wednesday at North Dakota State in Fargo. Tip is slated for 6 p.m. (MT) in the Scheels Center. The game will air live on the CBS Sports Network.

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Montana

Photos: Montana State clips Illinois State to win national championship

Published

17 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Photos: Montana State clips Illinois State to win national championship

Montana State plays Illinois State in the FCS national championship game at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026.Justin Hosa / MTN Sports

Montana State topped Illinois State 35-34 in overtime to claim their first National Championship since 1984.TOM WYLIE/MTN Sports

Montana State plays Illinois State in the FCS national championship game at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports

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Montana

Watch: Bobcat Built – Montana State’s Championship Quest

Published

1 day ago

January 5, 2026

Press Room

Watch: Bobcat Built – Montana State’s Championship Quest

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Montana State squares off with Illinois State Monday night in the FCS national championship game at FirstBank Stadium on the campus of Vanderbilt University. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.

The Bobcats are making their third trip to the title game in the past five seasons under coach Brent Vigen. The program is seeking its first championship since 1984.

MTN Sports has been on the ground in Nashville for the past five days covering the lead-up to the game, including the pregame show “Bobcat Built: Montana State’s Championship Quest” hosted by Scott Breen and Kyle Hansen.

In it the MTN staff provides game previews, features, facts and figures and sights and sounds from the past several days in Music City in the run-up to the game. To watch, see the video reel below.

Watch: Bobcat Built – Montana State’s Championship Quest

Bobcat Built: Montana State’s Championship Quest

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Harmon's Histories: Autumn in Montana fills days with sunshine, poetry … and naps

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Montana State’s Taylee Chirrick earns second straight Big Sky Conference weekly honor

Montana

Photos: Montana State clips Illinois State to win national championship

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Harmon's Histories: Autumn in Montana fills days with sunshine, poetry … and naps

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Montana State’s Taylee Chirrick earns second straight Big Sky Conference weekly honor

Montana

Photos: Montana State clips Illinois State to win national championship

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