The North Carolina Arboretum wasn’t just twinkling lights last weekend.

There was also Buck and Bear drama in a life-sized, wildlife diorama.

These two animals had the speaking parts in the play about nature’s ways..

The old buck was reminding the young cub how to prepare a bed for hibernation.

The cub had forgotten what he and his mother had done to prepare for last year’s winter rest.

Bears make themselves a mattress to sleep on out of twigs, vines and leaves.

There were cameo appearances from some smaller stars. These included owls, raccoons, skunks and chipmunks.

There was even a wild rabbit.

I really wanted to crawl over the railing and pet these precious creatures.

The folks at the North Carolina Arboretum foresaw this urge.

There was a row of little bears outside the railing also watching the performance,

so that children (or crazy women) could sit beside them and pet them.

Because it’s really hard to resist a baby bear,

especially one that talks.

FLOWER

(This is in the NC Arboretum building near the fountain. The display is in a large room to the left of the lobby. We would have missed it, had not a worker in the gift shop told us about it.  The short show is a must-see for children.)