Midden Madness
Midden is an old fashioned word for dumps, usually for kitchen waste. While it is mostly out of use in common language for human reference it is still used to describe animal dumping areas. Squirrels are the animals in this area that have noticeable middens but octopuses are also known for their middens. Middens for humans from bygone times are important sources of information on how life was lived in the past. Funny to think that our local garbage dump may be an area of interest to people hundreds or thousands of years in the future!
Squirrel middens are largely composed of the non-edible parts of cones, mushrooms, seeds, rose hips and whatever other consumables they come across. They are often found next to the base of an evergreen type tree with a nice raised eating platform or stump close by. In larger middens you might see tunnels that access food stores for the winter. In some areas middens can be several feet high and upwards of 10 feets across but in this area they rarely get that big. It is not uncommon to see a squirrel running back and forth from their food store or sitting watching you when you are close to a midden. If you seem to be a threat you may even hear a squirrel chattering or chirping at you.
The area through Fish Creek (including Fish Creek Forest and its walking paths) has many opportunities to see squirrel middens just off the many great walking trails. Just look for piles of cone remnants beneath evergreens. Just downhill from the Ambrose Homestead geocache GC184XD you can still see evidence of when this area was used by humans to dispose of their garbage. Out of sight was out of mind! Fortunately the City of Fort St John is now maintaining this area and it is a great place to get out for a walk and enjoy some nature!
The cache has room for some small tradeables. Please hide it exactly as you found it. Bring your own writing instrument.
Congratulations to HiscoxFamily on the FTF!