This is a very belated birthday tribute cache for Mordenpool, which was begun in February 2025. I was unable to complete in time due to family issues (and self-doubt!). Better late than never! Cache is a typical hide located in the Bear Swamp Natural Area.
Biology 101 with Mordenpool:
We can learn a lot of things while geocaching, so what better way to learn than to go geocaching with a Biologist?
Some of the things I learned from Mordenpool while caching:
Ever need to do your business while in the woods, but don’t have any toilet paper? That’s okay, just use this fuzzy leaf from a plant called Lamb’s Ear! (No thanks, I’ll just use the tissues in my pocket.)
Why do all these pine trees have little tiny holes in the bark of the trunk, all over? It’s from the Southern Pine Beetle which bores holes and kills the trees. How to get rid of them? Burn the trees – we found possible evidence of this while searching for one of the Rentons’ RPGeo caches in Ramtown. It appeared that the infested trees had been cut down and burned.
What’s this hole in the ground that sometimes has water in it? It’s a vernal pool which fills with water in the spring and dries up in the summer. Vernal pools are breeding habitats for many species of amphibians and invertebrates.
A tree common to parts of New Jersey, primarily the Pinelands, is the pitch pine which is native to Eastern North America. The Latin name is pinus rigida.
Remember those pesky (but pretty) invasive Spotted Lanternflies? Well, their host plant is the equally invasive “Tree of Heaven” (Ailanthus). They grow everywhere and are where the Lanternflies lay eggs and feast on the sap of the tree. Don’t park your car under one, or you’ll end up with a sticky mess all over! (I didn’t learn that one from Mordenpool; it happened at the office!)
This cache brings you back to the beautiful Bear Swamp Natural Area (where Mordenpool became a geocacher 2018). Since that time, she's been hiding lots of good caches.
Feel free to bring a CITO bag to clean up after the fisher-muggles. I collected an assortment of beer/booze/water containers while placing the cache.
This cache is certified Central Jersey!