Mr. Promptly’s Hobby

Mr. Promptly needed a hobby. He called upon Fiona, Miss Wilkinson, at the library. “She is ever so helpful,” he thought.

And she was, “Bird feeding is an excellent hobby. It teaches you about birds and their behaviour.”

“And their antics can be quite humorous,” she blushed.

As she was pushing his stack of books to him across the library checkout counter, she said, “Don’t forget to baffle the squirrels. It’s very important as they are such nuisances.” She blushed, “I feed my backyard birds. We can compare feathered friend visitors.”

Fiona, Miss Wilkinson, fed the birds too. Mr. Promptly’s heart sang.

So eager to begin, he went directly to a wild bird supply store and went home whistling “Red, Red, Robin.”

In the excitement, he forgot to ask how to baffle squirrels. He pondered as his pounded the wrought iron hanger into the ground. He puzzled while filling the tube. Then, as he was hanging his first feast of seeds, the answer came.

No squirrels bothered his feeder; he baffled any attempts by using the calico Fiona and the marmalade Miss Wilkinson as guard cats.

But he was baffled as to why no birds visited his feeder. What would he do when his library books were due? Fiona, Miss Wilkinson, would be so disappointed in him.

For Sunday Photo Fiction, October 16, 2016