{"id":4498,"date":"2020-04-03T05:00:10","date_gmt":"2020-04-03T05:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/?p=4498"},"modified":"2020-04-03T05:00:10","modified_gmt":"2020-04-03T05:00:10","slug":"embracing-nature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/03\/embracing-nature\/","title":{"rendered":"Embracing nature"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We are a bit crap at keeping the outside of our house clean. <!--more--><br \/>\n<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4499\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/03\/embracing-nature\/24674d4a-3e0b-48cc-b500-8f6708c3f067\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/24674D4A-3E0B-48CC-B500-8F6708C3F067.jpeg?fit=640%2C480&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"640,480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"24674D4A-3E0B-48CC-B500-8F6708C3F067\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/24674D4A-3E0B-48CC-B500-8F6708C3F067.jpeg?fit=525%2C394&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-4499\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/24674D4A-3E0B-48CC-B500-8F6708C3F067.jpeg?resize=300%2C225&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/24674D4A-3E0B-48CC-B500-8F6708C3F067.jpeg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/24674D4A-3E0B-48CC-B500-8F6708C3F067.jpeg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><br \/>\nWe\u2019ll never feature in Better Homes and Gardens, but it did mean we spent a very enjoyable half hour this afternoon, watching a life and death struggle between an enormous spider and a wasp. I thought it might be a bee but was better informed after the girls condescendingly explained the differences between a wasp and a bee. (Them: anatomy, colour, habits; me:yellow and stripey = bee). \u00a0The wasp almost broke free a number of times, and was flexing its huge stinger most threateningly, but the spider made many cunning little runs in to cover the dangerous bits with web, and eventually the wasp retired, defeated, to be gradually dissolved by enzymes while the spider looked on, rubbing its hands (feet?) with glee.<br \/>\nMight be time to watch some more nature documentaries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We are a bit crap at keeping the outside of our house clean.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8Ukf-1ay","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4681,"url":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2020\/05\/04\/all-abuzz\/","url_meta":{"origin":4498,"position":0},"title":"All abuzz","author":"Interloper11","date":"May 4, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"My daughters think it\u2019s hilarious I still can\u2019t tell the difference between a bee and a wasp - but as I\u2019ve tried to explain to them, that moment when you feel a tickling on your bare shoulder and you look down to see out of the corner of your eye\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11429,"url":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/09\/monarch-butterfly-update\/","url_meta":{"origin":4498,"position":1},"title":"Monarch butterfly update","author":"Interloper11","date":"February 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"We\u2019ve done a particularly poor job of supporting the local Lepidoptera population over the past couple of years. At first it was a relief not to have to supervise the caterpillar hunger games each season, and the swan plants certainly thrived in their absence, but as far as encouraging monarch\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/IMG_1400-225x300.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7570,"url":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/20\/and-then-there-were-three\/","url_meta":{"origin":4498,"position":2},"title":"And then there were three","author":"Interloper11","date":"February 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"What on earth?? 13 caterpillars on the swan plant yesterday, some heavy rain overnight which I thought might do a little damage, but today\u00a0there are only\u00a0three\u00a0caterpillars left.\u00a0And not a single chrysalis anywhere. I can\u2019t see where the other caterpillars may have gone, although there\u2019s at least one body at the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/ACD08778-A87E-47C5-8248-98C8DA1D0F7A-e1645326150231-225x300.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9909,"url":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/24\/what-is-happening-this-week-in-the-world-of-monarch-butterflies\/","url_meta":{"origin":4498,"position":3},"title":"What is happening this week in the world of monarch butterflies?","author":"Interloper11","date":"March 24, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In an act that might be described as one of the purest optimism, I\u2019m reintroducing a bunch of new caterpillars to our swan plant of death. Yes, it\u2019s optimistic, but it\u2019s also essential, as in this case, the caterpillars are the excess from my daughter\u2019s swan plants which are sadly\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_7517-768x1024.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_7517-768x1024.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_7517-768x1024.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12794,"url":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/28\/late-bloomer\/","url_meta":{"origin":4498,"position":4},"title":"Late bloomer","author":"Interloper11","date":"March 28, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Our swan plants are in great health and are currently supporting a number of caterpillars, in spite of not being under a wasp net, and summer being over. One thing I could attribute this to is the wasp that I smacked between two shoe soles in a fit of pique\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_1236.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_1236.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_1236.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_1236.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_1236.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_1236.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13334,"url":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/11\/thursday-10-september-transylvanian-cycling-day-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":4498,"position":5},"title":"Thursday 10 September Transylvanian cycling day 5","author":"Interloper11","date":"September 11, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s my dad\u2019s birthday today, if he were still alive he\u2019d be 97. Happy Birthday Dad! Very nice dinner, cooked by Anna who apparently moved here from France thirty years ago. There\u2019s clearly a story there but we\u2019ll never learn it. Most of our interactions have been with a German\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_7318-225x300.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4498\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}