Giselle Fernandez/GZ Fern (they/them)

#FunFactFriday
Some plants don’t photosynthesize— because they don’t have any chlorophyll!

Some parasitics attach to other plants to survive, like mistletoe and squawroot.

Others, like coralroot orchids and pinesap, tap into mycorrhizal fungi networks in the soil for their nutrients instead! 🍄🌾

#FunFactFriday
Whenever a month starts on a Sunday, the 13th lands on a Friday.
Every year has at least one instance of a Friday the 13th! 🍀🧡

Why Transgender People Are Not Feeling Gavin Newsom We have seen this song and dance before.

There seems to be a lot of discussion about Gavin Newsom today.

I wanted to re-share this piece that I wrote, because I have a lot of center-to-left Dems that follow me that want to understand.

There are very good reasons transgender people do not like Gavin Newsom.

haha just a bunch of one-scene/line characters and general background walla but still, it was a fun one!

ooo I’m in that one

showoffs. we can’t even get WATER to fall from the sky out here in Cali

Oh I was also working at a farm at the time! Always had some kind of nick or scratch or bruise from that, haha

A smiling human looking down at a handful of tarantula, the spider’s legs posed comfortably around the human’s fingers.

A Chilean rose-haired tarantula chilling calmly in a human hand.

Meet Rosie! She was the gentlest tarantula I’ve ever met. Back in college I introduced her to a large number of kids through the entomology department’s insect zoo. She was super popular for a good reason— she was an absolute sweetheart! 🧡🧡🧡

You can always check the label! Because the vanilla orchid has a very specific insect pollinator that doesn’t exist outside of the Americas, most vanilla plants need to be pollinated by hand during a very short window of time. It’s cheaper to synthesize fake vanilla than grow the actual thing!

#FunFactFriday
Vanilla comes from an orchid flower! It’s considered a ‘new world’ spice, native to Mesoamérica where the Aztecs used it to flavor chocolate.

Despite vanilla’s western origins, Madagascar is actually the leading commercial producer of vanilla these days, followed by Indonesia!🍦🧡

Aw heck yeah, plume moths don’t get enough love.
Your art is wonderful!! 🧡

#FunFactFriday
Animals have all sorts of ways to survive cold climates!

Some insects overwinter as eggs, others undergo a hibernation-like state called diapause, red squirrels rely on cached food in middens, Alaskan tree frogs freeze solid and thaw later— nature’s adaptations are pretty varied! 🧡❄️

Little announcement— BIG HOPS IS OUT NOW!! It was such a blast to work on, @luckshotgames.com made a really fun game.

Honored to have been a part of the team! 🧡🦇🦝

real life needs a block button :(

Obsessive milkshake cousin reporting for duty

That it is! The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is the other one I referenced, it requires a stomach to read but I do recommend it if you haven’t! :)

Vital changes were made because people cared.
Cared enough to research & write; cared enough to fight for a better world no matter who fought back for a worse one.

The more we learn, and the more we care for the people and the world around us, the better the world becomes for everyone. 🧡 (2/2)

#FunFactFriday
When a book came out revealing the details of the meat packing industry in the US, the first version of the FDA was born to protect workers and consumers. 🏭

When a book came out about the effects of DDT pesticide on the environment, the EPA began to protect it (and us). 🌿(1/2)

DuckDuckGo isn’t a bad option from my experience! They have AI-assisted options that you can completely turn off in their settings which is nice :)

me when I forget that kung pao chicken has peanuts in it 😅

#FunFactFriday
Tiger beetles look for food in two alternating modes:

1-running too fast to process the world around them

2-stopping to reorient in space

Some hunt without using their eyes at all!

Scaled up to humans, that’s like running blindly at 240mph in short bursts. Nature’s fast food! 🧡

living in LA during the winter is just like living anywhere else, it’s 72F post-solstice and sometimes an apocalyptic wall of noise makes you look up to see a tree with parrots for leaves, just totally normal and universal things

Maybe I can help you understand! Different people live lives different to yours, and have different body chemistries.

Protein bars are easy meal replacements if you don’t have time for a full meal.

Some folks’ bodies process protein at a higher rate than others.

So many reasons, all fully valid!

FORMULA 1 QATAR GRAND PRIX 2024 | Hot Wheels Racing | Kid-Approved Recap YouTube video by Hot Wheels

(if you saw this earlier no u didn’t shh 👀)

Why am I posting about the Indy 500 on a random December Friday? idk man, friend of mine knew the guy and we were talking about it recently

Also racing’s on my mind with the Hot Wheels 2024 F1 recap stop-motion series coming out: youtu.be/0oxtPknyAFs

#FunFactFriday
In 1980, Roger Rager raced in the Indy 500 with a repurposed school bus engine block. He didn’t win (placed 23rd after spinning out) but he did place 10th fast qualifying! Even qualifying at all was an impressive feat, and he went down in history for his boldness and creativity
🚌💨🏎️

or you can wrap asparagus in em, those are always awesome if you wanna jazz up some veggies!

Screenshot of a Courier Mail health article titled “Covid alters brain structure long after infection, new Qld study finds.” The subheading says Queensland researchers found COVID-19 can significantly alter the brain long after recovery, with MRI scans showing lasting changes even in people without ongoing symptoms. Below the headline is a photo of a desktop computer displaying multiple colorful brain MRI images arranged in rows, with another monitor showing a brain scan beside it. The article is dated December 16, 2025.

"COVID alters brain structure long after infection, new Qld study finds"

"Queensland researchers have discovered coronavirus significantly alters the brain long after recovery, with MRI scans revealing lasting changes even in people without ongoing symptoms."

Source: archive.md/JURHA

#FunFactFriday
There’s a mushroom that drips a black inky substance as it ages, melting from the outside in. It has many names, but my favourite is “tippler’s bane”. It’s helpfully descriptive, because while technically edible, they’re poisonous when consumed with alcohol. 🍄‍🟫

Ahh yeah, I’ve been traveling and time zones got me all goofed up. I’ll have one next week! 😅

One of the first live-action dubs I recorded entirely from my closet during the quarantine times was a Spanish dub based on true events about the depth of corruption in FIFA.

Dunno why that popped into my head, must be nostalgia or something