Wondrous Words Wednesday is a fabulous weekly meme hosted by Bermuda Onion, where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our weekly reading.
My words this week are from My Side of the Mountain.
1. Junco (Noun)
2. Nuthatch (Noun)
The juncos and chickadees and nuthatches were gone.
Clearly, both were birds, but I'd never heard of either of them.
Junco is a small North American finch, usually having a pink bill, ashy gray head and back, and conspicuous white lateral tail feathers.
 |
| Such an attractive little bird |
Nuthatches are a small songbird with a long strong bill, a stiffened square-cut tail, and the habit of climbing down tree trunks head first.
 |
| An even more attractive bird |
3. Riffles (Noun)
The heads of riffles, small rapids, the tail of a pool, eddies below rocks or logs, deep undercut banks, in the shade of overhanging bushes- all are very likely places to fish.
i) A rocky shoal or sandbar lying just below the surface of a waterway
ii) A stretch of choppy water caused by such a shoal or a sandbar; a rapid.
 |
| Picture credit |
It has another use in mining, but an even better usage as the act of shuffling cards.
4. Ox bow (Noun)
We didn't get back until dusk because I discovered some wild rice in an ox bow of the stream.
 |
| Picture credit |
5. Puffballs (Noun)
I soaked some dried puffballs in water, and when they were big and moist, I fried them with wild onions and skimpy old wild carrots and stuffed myself until I felt kindly toward all men.
i) Any of various fungi of the genus Lycoperdon and related genera, having a ball-shaped fruiting body that when pressed or struck releases the enclosed spores in puffs of dust.
ii) Informal. The rounded head of a dandelion that has gone to seed.
 |
| Picture credit |
The birds are beautiful! As many times as I've heard oxbow, I never really pictured it in my head - your illustrations really helped!
ReplyDeleteI only knew junco because we get lots of them in our garden.
ReplyDeleteHere's mine:
http://junkboattravels.blogspot.ca/2010/03/wednesdays-words-segotia.html
Interesting! I will have to throw the word "riffles" around when we go kayaking this summer :) When I was in high school, we read a book called, "The Oxbow Incident" about a lynching. In the course of reading that, we went over what an oxbow lake was. The last time I flew, I was looking out the window and saw one!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting words, I enjoyed looking at the birds also.
ReplyDeletePretty birds, great words.
ReplyDeletehttp://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2012/04/wondrous-words-wednesday_11.html
Very intersting words and, with the photos I understood all of them : thanks !
ReplyDeleteVery interesting words! And I love all the pictures.
ReplyDeleteI think I have the sweet little Junco in my neighborhood. Now I know what to call it!
ReplyDeleteNuthatches are one of my favorite birds. They are very entertaining to watch. As usual, you word post was fun to read and look at.
ReplyDeleteInteresting pictures, and words too! Thanks!
ReplyDelete