Succinctly Yours Week 15

Grandma's Goulash at Succinctly Yours hosts this microfiction meme.

Each week she posts a photographic prompt for inspiration and the challenge is to write a story using no more than 140 characters or words. 

As an extra challenge, a word is offered for inclusion and this week’s word is expedient.

Below is this week's photo followed by my offering. 

The frog waited patiently then flicked out its long, sticky tongue. It gulped and the fly was gone. Then the heron struck. Life is cruel!

(137 characters)

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Felicity believed all life was sacred and allowed the creatures in her garden to share the bounty of nature. There was enough for all. The birds were grateful for the caterpillars, slugs and snails, and the fish varied their diet with things beneath and above the water. Dragonflies, those predatory survivors of prehistory, sped through the warm summer air, snapping up slower, less fortunate insects. Even wasps she didn’t mind, so long as they didn’t threaten to sting her.

The one thing she could not tolerate were flies. She hated the way they buzzed around her head and how they blundered into the lamps at night. Flies carried disease and although it was contrary to everything she believed, it was expedient that they were eradicated.

Swatting them improved her reflexes and helped her to become a champion tennis player.

(139 words)

First frog and a foolish butterfly

Yesterday, St David's Day, started with a heavy frost and blue, blue skies. It was a wonderful day – brisk, bright and surprisingly warm in the sun though had the wind been blowing it would have felt very cold. Today started in similar vein and the weather forecasters are predicting that we will have several more dry, clear days. In celebration of that I have chosen a Spring-like colour for this post, though it will probably be impossible to read.
Yesterday there were many flies in the forest, most of them intent on settling in my hair and just now I saw my first butterfly of 2010 in our garden. It was yellow – more lemon yellow than primrose but it didn't settle so I couldn't photograph it. I'm sure it's much too early for butterflies to be out and about so I fear it is destined for a short life unless it can find a warm place to rest. While I was outside I glanced into the pond in time to see a frog swimming into the safety of the depths. This was the first frog I have seen this year – usually they're busy quite early in February. Like our daffodils, however, they are late to appear this Spring.