Parky?

Factual Questions
1

No, not ‘brisk’ or ‘crisp’, as weather. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I’m reading a book that is exerpts from a journal kept by a man who set up a homestead in Alaska. He keeps referring to ‘parky squirrels’. He never uses ‘parky’ for anything else. He was born in Iowa in 1916 and the books from his journals cover from 1968 to 1980.

Is ‘parky’, as Richard Proenneke uses it, an Iowa/Midwest term? Does it have a specific meaning? Or is it just supposed to convey a sense of squirreliness?

2

They are arctic ground squirrels.

http://alaska06.earthcammobile.com/image.php?imgid=39220

3

Thanks. I was reading thinging that ‘parky’ described the squirrels, not that ‘parky squirrels’ is a local term for ground squirrels.

4

They’re Gophers of the North!

5

Could possibly be “perky”, which is a common Midwestern term meaning lively, lighthearted, energetic. Which often describes the appearance of squirrels.

6

Parky squirrels are the ground squirrels which are used in the making of “parkys” (Parkas)

Cite: http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED376005&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&accno=ED376005