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Red Deer’s scenery deserves respect, so let’s show it some

May 21, 2017 | 8:49 PM

Bower Ponds has quickly become one of my favourite Red Deer hangouts.

Yes… it is a Pokémon Go hotspot, but there are so many more important reasons why Bower Ponds is the place to be.

Unfortunately, some people just want to ruin a good thing.

It’s funny because Red Deer was recently named by Expedia as one of the most breathtaking places in North America. I’ll admit, I had my doubts, and I had my certainties that others would also be skeptical about that title being bestowed upon our fair city.

During a late afternoon stroll through Bower Ponds this week, I found myself amused by the goslings trying to keep up with their parents. For the third time in recent memory, I spotted my buddy Martin the muskrat swimming through the pond. The red-winged blackbirds were singing to each other from across the water. The club house was cranking out tunes and the smell of grilled cheese filled the air. The sun was shining, and I’d just caught an Onix.

To my despair and disappointment upon arriving at the gazebo on the park’s east side, I saw not just one, but two coffee cups lying on the ground, and no more than 50 feet away from a garbage can. That is where they wound up a few moments later.

I’m not trying to earn praise — I’m just trying to say that if you are the one(s) responsible for leaving that particular garbage there, or any garbage anywhere that isn’t a trash receptacle, then you really need a reality check. What if the geese or the muskrat or the blackbirds got into that garbage? What if it wound up in the pond and harmed a fish?

What if you acted like a mature human being and walked that 50 feet to the trash bin?

If you’re reading this, I implore you to never litter and encourage you to share this message with others.

After all Red Deer, this is the type of thing that makes even the people who live here question whether we really deserve to be called breathtaking.

One thing I’ve learned is: We do.