Daffodils

I continued to take good care of the flowers.  Little by little, they began to open up.

It was hard work taking care of them, so I made a little bed for myself and took a nap, but I never left their side.

When I woke up, I was happily surprised to see that they were in full bloom.  Jerry and Ben were right - these were daffodils!

"You are beary beautiful," I said to them.

"Thank you," they replied.

I feel more confident about my green paw now.  Maybe I will try to grow some plants.  I wonder if any bees will visit these flowers.

Flowers

Today my mom brought home a bunch of flower stems  They had not bloomed yet.

It was my job to take care of them!  Hopefully I would do better than last time.  I am still working on my green paw, you know.  So I got a large vase and filled it with water.

Is that enough water?

Then I arranged the stems in the vase.

And now I am giving the flowers lots of TLC.  Little bear hugs might help them bloom nicely, don't you think?

I wonder what type of flowers they are.  Any guesses?

Pants or no pants?

Thank you everyone, for your thoughtful responses regarding my pants dilemma.  After reading your comments, I was still undecided about the entire situation so I went to ask Uncle Tibbs for advice.

"Uncle Tibbs," I said, "I received a pair of pants the other day from the pants fairy, but I'm not sure if I should put them on."

"Hmm... I'm afraid I don't have much experience with this situation," he replied.  "One thing is for sure, these are definitely your size and not mine!"

"What should I do, Uncle Tibbs?  I have always had a bare bear bum and I like it that way."

"Well, you could still be bare bear bummed - like me - and always wonder what wearing pants is like.  Or, you could try them on and find out.  Worse comes to worse, you can always take them off."

Deep down inside, I knew Uncle Tibbs was right.

I picked up the pants.

I was going to try them on.

"Hey everyone, Ajdin is going to try on some pants!" Uncle Tibbs announced.  Ooogie and Feathers came over to witness this historic event.

I carefully pulled one leg on...

...then the other.  I had to squirm around on the ground a bit.

Uncle Tibbs giggled.

"This is harder than it looks," I said.

"Theeeeeee susssssspeeeeeense isssssssss killiiiiiiiiing meeeeeeeeeeee," said Ooogie.

Finally, with some effort, I had successfully put my pants on.

"There!  How do I look?" I asked.

"Umm.... you look..." Uncle Tibbs stifled more giggles.

"Neeeeeeeeerdy," Ooogie said.

"What if you untucked your shirt?" Feathers asked.  "There, that's better."

It was an entirely new sensation wearing pants.  I walked around for a bit as my friends watched.

"So this is what pants feel like," I said.

But soon, I began to feel itchy... and restricted in movement... and I had a sudden urge...

...to take them off!

"Ajdin, what happened?" my friends asked.

"I am... a bare bummed bear!" I said proudly.

Uncle Tibbs giggled some more.

Oh well, at least I tried wearing pants, but I guess they aren't for me.

A shocking discovery

Today I made a shocking discovery that would change my life forever.  Perhaps you should sit down before you read the rest of this blog post.

Are you sitting?  Good.

See, I was just minding my own business when I happened to see an unusual object lying on the ground.

No, it can't be, I thought.

I approached the object cautiously.

I poked it with a stick to see if it was alive.  It didn't move.

After my careful inspection, I determined that the unusual object was, indeed, a pair of PANTS.

Yes, that's right.  PANTS.

My mind was swirling with all kinds of thoughts.

What does it mean?  Do I have to wear pants everyday now?  Are bears who don't wear pants frowned upon in society?

A small glimmer of hope swelled up within me.  Perhaps these were someone else's pants.  Perhaps someone lost them and dropped them here.  Perhaps I would still be Ajdin "No Pants" Adilovic.

I looked closer at the tag.  "FOR AJDIN," it said.

I was absolutely floored at this point.  In fact, I am still in shock that I am going to leave this beary important decision up to you, blog friends.

Cast your vote in your comment below.

Should I try on these pants?

YES, you should try them on.

NO, be a bottomless bear.

Your vote could decide my fate.  Choose carefully!

Diet results

Uncle Tibbs had been working beary hard on his diet.  It was time for a weigh-in.

"Alright, here I go," he said.  "Surely I must have lost some weight after all of this."

He stepped onto the scale.  The number did not budge.

"What!  How can this be?"  He kicked the scale.  The number still did not budge.  He let out a sigh.  "I guess I will always be... big."

"Uncle Tibbs, may I please say something?" I asked.

"Go ahead, Ajdin."

"I have been trying to tell you this entire time.  I like your big belly."

"You do?"

"Yes.  It's perfect for mountain climbing..."

"...it can be played like a drum..."

GONG!!

"...it is my favorite pillow..."

"...but most of all, I like you just the way you are."

"SO DO WE!"

"Aw, thanks guys," Uncle Tibbs said.  "Now, who's up for some salmon and honey biscuits?  I'm hungry!"

Diet

Earlier this week, I saw Uncle Tibbs looking at himself in the mirror.  He was talking to himself.

"You've really let yourself go this time, Tibbs.  You've got to do something about that huge belly of yours.  This is no good."

"Uncle Tibbs, what are you doing?" I asked.  "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is not okay, Ajdin," he replied.  He pointed to his large belly.  "I've taken it a bit too easy during this winter.  HiBEARnation is over and spring is well on its way.  I'm going to go on a diet."

"A diet?" I said in disbelief.  "As in D-I-E-T?"

"Yes, I need to lose weight."

"But Uncle Tibbs -- "

"No buts... I am on a diet," he said.

He ate very little.

"I'll just have a light dinner tonight, Ajdin," he said.  "You go ahead and have all the salmon and honey biscuits."

"But Uncle Tibbs -- "

"No buts... I am on a diet," he said.

I even saw Uncle Tibbs practicing yoga.

"Yogi bears are all thin.  Perhaps yoga will help me lose some weight," he said while lying upside down.

"But Uncle Tibbs -- "

"No buts... I am on a diet," he said.

Uncle Tibbs was also working very hard lifting weights.

"Muscle burns more.... ERGHHH... calories than fat does... UNGHHH... so maybe this will help me.... PHEW.... lose weight."

"But Uncle Tibbs -- "

"No buts.... URNGHHERRRGH... I am on a diet," he said.

Uncle Tibbs was taking this diet thing beary seriously.  I wonder if he was going to lose any weight?  He seemed to be a bit hard on himself.

Salmonoa cookies

Perhaps you have seen other Bear Cub Scouts in your neighborhood selling cookies.  We do this every year apparently, to raise money for our Bear Cub Scout Troop.  Some people say these cookies are overpriced, but I think you are also buying the cuteness of having a little bear sell them to you, don't you think?  I have a box of cookies here with me today.

They are my beary favorite cookies - Salmonoa cookies!  

"Does anyone want to buy a box of Salmonoa cookies?" I asked.  I waited for three seconds but received no answer.  I guess that means we can eat the cookies then.

Here, would you like a cookie?

They look good, don't they?  Take a big bite.

Mmm, it has lots of coconut and caramel and chocolate...

A little tea with honey would be the perfect complement to this snack...

Wow, that was fast!

We ate all the cookies!  Do you have a favorite Bear Cub Scout cookie?