{"id":1644,"date":"2014-08-18T21:04:16","date_gmt":"2014-08-18T21:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/?p=1644"},"modified":"2021-05-08T14:38:27","modified_gmt":"2021-05-08T14:38:27","slug":"dear-deer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/dear-deer\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear Deer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"deers\"<\/a>It seems simple enough; locating a recycling center. But I haven\u2019t actually found it to be so. My building doesn\u2019t have a special receptacle for recyclables, but I like to avoid taking up extra space in landfills. So, I’ll collect glass bottles, plastic containers, cans, and newspapers in a little blue plastic garbage can and drive full bins to a set of labeled dumpsters at a neighborhood recycling center.<\/p>\n

I thought there was one at Horner Park and drove a full can there only to be informed by the security guard that they had to remove the dumpster because people were using it to dump (all sorts of) garbage<\/em>. Imagine that.<\/p>\n

I consulted online postings about the city\u2019s recycling program but didn\u2019t know if the locations listed were current. The 17th<\/sup> District police station, which used to be a recycling site, suggested I go to the parking lot at Northeastern College. They were supposed to be a big center.<\/p>\n

I hadn\u2019t been there for years. Northeastern is a small, teaching school just past the Montrose Cemetery and Crematorium, by a strip of small factories. Along with academic and recreation buildings, the 67 acre campus contains a small nature preserve. I used to take walks through the trails there with a friend.<\/p>\n

Sure enough, after turning off of Pulaski and following the signs pointing to the recycling center, I found myself in a smallish parking lot on the edge of a wooded area with a family of deer watching me. I was just shy of fuming over the great lengths I had to go through to dispose of my plastic water bottles responsibly when I tripped on a sight that melted my heart.<\/p>\n

While the deer didn\u2019t hang out by the dumpsters, they weren\u2019t afraid of grazing near the pavement either. They obviously didn\u2019t like people to come too close, but they liked a lot of the things visitors left behind like discarded remnants of sandwiches. I observed one deer nuzzling a white candy bar wrapper, pushing it with her snout until she decided it contained nothing for her.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s so great to find nature in unexpected places; to see fresh flowers in a modest corner cafe or trees in the lobby of an office building.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a treat to see anything or anyone act naturally<\/em>. Not being self-conscious is part of this equation. The family of deer didn\u2019t seem to be ruffled by my presence. They tolerated me walking close, but not too close, while I snapped a series of photographs. When they had enough, they simply ran away.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t most of us get a charge out of seeing a child or animal doing just about anything because how<\/em><\/strong> they do things is a natural expression of who they are?<\/p>\n

The deer family had friends in the woods. I watched six in total run behind the trees and out of sight before dragging my little blue bin out from the back seat of my car. I realized I must have been watching them for about ten minutes. During this time, my mission of sorting cans and bottles and paper products was suspended.<\/p>\n

Putting agendas on hold in order to revel in an unexpected encounter with nature is no small thing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It seems simple enough; locating a recycling center. 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