Nature notes, 20 February 2023. 3°C. Sunny with a few clouds. Damp.

Went for a walk in Dumfries Conservation Area. Saw a few ferns, some birch trees, various conifers, a grey squirrel, and lots of chickadees at a feeder by the parking lot. Also this lovely moss. Now that the snow is almost all gone, the forest floor, and stumps and rocks with moss on them, are once again visible.

The Anishinaabe word for moss is waasekmik. The word aasekmik means lichen or moss. They also have a verb, waasekmigaamgad: to be a mossy area, to be moss-covered ground.

The Anishinaabe for chickadee is jigjigaaneshiinh. I wonder if chickadee is an anglicized version of jigjigaaneshiinh, or maybe both names are onomatopoeia.

The Kanien’kéha word for moss is Aweráhsa’ or Awenrásha. They also have a word meaning “Mosslike underwater plants”: Awenráshon.

The Kanien’kéha for chickadee is Tsiktsiré:re. Chickadee could also be an anglicized version of Tsiktsiré:re, or again both could be onomatopoeic.