Ferris Jabr
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ferrisjabr.bsky.social
Ferris Jabr
@ferrisjabr.bsky.social
13K followers 730 following 640 posts
NYT bestselling author of Becoming Earth (Random House, 2024), being translated into 12+ languages ✵ Contributing Writer, New York Times Magazine ✵ Gardener, baker, naturalist ✵ 🇱🇧🇺🇸🏳️‍🌈 ✵ Surname rhymes with neighbor ✵ https://www.ferrisjabr.com
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ferrisjabr.bsky.social
From the same video, a closeup of an ancient leaf gingerly peeled from rock and suspended between acetate sheets. You can see its colors, veins, and even blemishes that might be spots of damage from weather or insects.

A relic from a different Earth, another world, yet instantly familiar.
Closeup of an exceptionally well preserved leaf from around 15 million years ago, sandwiched between transparent acetate sheets. It is yellow-brown with visible veins, specks of black and brown, and somewhat jagged edges.
November 19, 2025 at 5:55 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
In Idaho's Clarkia fossil beds, ~15-million-yr-old leaves are sandwiched between rock. When exposed, the leaves momentarily retain their original colors—red, copper, sometimes even a chlorophyllic hue—before oxidizing and fading.

A sedimentary scrapbook. Reverse polaroids from Earth's deep past.
Sedimentary block containing fossil leaves from the Clarkia Lake. The central leaf is reddish-brown, boat-shaped, and almost intact, surrounded by fragments of darker, almost black leaves. Photo: Dr. Yige Zhang. A laurel leaf, newly excavated in the field, exhibiting its original autumnal red hue. Photo: Margret Steinthorsdottir and Helen K Coxall.
November 19, 2025 at 5:44 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
Working from 1886-1936, the Blaschkas used innovative techniques to emulate the colors, forms, & textures of real plants, meticulously joining numerous individual parts on wire frames, melting glass on glass, and often coating and adorning the glass with resins, gelatins, cotton fibers, and paint.
Glass models of apple blossoms replicating their delicate gradients of pink and white. Closeup of potentilla flower revealing extraordinary detail, such as petal and leaf veins and tiny hairlike stamens. Closeup of glass leaves revealing gelatin veins. Glass model of pitcher plant demonstrating numerous different textures, from glossy and smooth to wrinkled, rippled, jagged, and fibrous.
November 14, 2025 at 7:27 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
Recently visited the Glass Flowers at Harvard, a collection of 4,300 extraordinarily realistic glass models of plants crafted by the Blaschkas, a father and son team of sculptors

That’s right, these are all made primarily of GLASS — a fact difficult to accept given how accurate & lifelike they are
An overview shot of a portion of the collection: a long window box with wooden frames filled with glass models of plants carefully arranged and labeled on white backgrounds, as though part of a 3D herbarium. From this distance, they are indistinguishable from real plants. Glass model of maple leaves, featuring blended molten glass that mimics the red hues of autumn foliage A glass model of a Columbine (Aquilegia) with parsley-like leaves and pendulous, faintly red and yellow flowers that look like swans huddled together, necks touching and wings flared out. Glass model of a Potentilla with almost ferny foliage and simple, open-faced yellow flowers with fuzzy centers.
November 14, 2025 at 7:17 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
Every now and then I remember that sponges are ANIMALS — that these seeming hybrids of plant and rock; these sessile, porous, tissue-and-organ-less barrels, tubes, and blobs are just as much an animal as a falcon, wolf, or shark — and marvel once more at the wonderful weirdness of life on Earth.
Sponge biodiversity and morphotypes at the lip the wall site in 60 feet of water. Included are the yellow tube sponge, Aplysina fistularis, the pink vase sponge, Niphates digitalis, the red encrusting sponge, Spiratrella coccinea, and the gray rope sponge, Callyspongia sp. Caribbean Sea, Cayman Islands. Date 23 May 2007 Source NOAA Photo Library: reef3859 Xestospongia testudinaria is a species of barrel sponge in the family Petrosiidae Nederlands: Vaassponzen (xestospongia testudinaria) Date 2 May 2007 (original upload date) Source Transferred from nl.wikipedia to Commons. Author Albert Kok at Dutch Wikipedia This series of photographs represents the biodiversity found off the coast of Roscanvel, in the Fiistère, including several species of encrusting sponges, whose colours vary from whitish to orange. Date 2 December 2020 (upload date) Source Diverses éponges encroûtantes Author Olivier Dugornay The freshwater sponge, Spongilla lacustris, in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River in Washington State, USA. 15 August 2008 Author: Kirt L. Onthank
November 14, 2025 at 3:10 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
The first ever images of baby planets forming in the discs of dust and gas surrounding their respective stars. How thrilling that we can actually observe the birth of other worlds from so far away!

www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...
www.eso.org/public/unite...
HT @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social
The black void of space separates a bright white ring from a larger, hazy bluish gray halo. Just to the side of the bright white ring there is a small yellowish dot: a baby planet forming. "The newborn planet WISPIT 2b is eating its way through its dusty “cradle” as it orbits its parent star. This image, taken with ESO's Very Large Telescope, is the first clear image of a baby planet in a multi-ringed disc." WIde Separation Planets In Time (WISPIT): A gap-clearing planet in a multi-ringed disk around the young solar-type star WISPIT 2; Richelle van Capelleveen et al. Research published in 2025 An amber-colored, vaguely ovoid blob of dust and gas in space with dark regions. A bright spot near the center is a baby planet forming. "Astronomers led by a group at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany have captured a spectacular snapshot of planetary formation around the young dwarf star PDS 70. By using the SPHERE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) — one of the most powerful planet-hunting instruments in existence — the international team has made the first robust detection of a young planet, named PDS 70b, cleaving a path through the planet-forming material surrounding the young star" "This research was presented in two papers, entitled “Discovery of a planetary-mass companion within the gap of the transition disk around PDS 70” and “Orbital and atmospheric characterization of the planet within the gap of the PDS 70 transition disk”, both [published] in Astronomy & Astrophysics" in 2018.
November 8, 2025 at 2:32 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
Join me Sat Nov 8, 1PM at Boston's @museumofscience.bsky.social for a family-friendly presentation about our living planet, based on my book Becoming Earth. We'll learn how life transformed Earth over billions of years, making it the world we've known. Blue Wing Stage (w/ a view of the giant globe!)
Poster for described event featuring Museum of Science logo, photo of giant globe exhibit, and cover of Ferris Jabr's book Becoming Earth
November 7, 2025 at 5:51 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
Wednesday Nov 5 I’ll be at my alma mater Tufts with Pulitzer winner and MIT KSJ director @usha.bsky.social discussing the importance of science journalism in this moment and the lessons and tools it offers us all

Free and open to public w/ registration
www.tuftstickets.com/event/lighti...
Poster for described event. Text: How science journalism can help us all navigate a new dark age. Wednesday November 5 Tufts University Olin 012 6PM Featuring Ferris Jabr and Usha Lee McFarling
October 28, 2025 at 6:07 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
Luminaries, bats, spider web, kraken (paper, yarn, paint)
Three paper luminaries made from black paper lunch bags, featuring silhouettes of a cat, moon, and owl, illuminated from within Large spider web made of black yarn suspended across a wall and window beneath dozens of paper bats arranged in a swoosh A green and black kraken with giant eyes, glowing spots, and crinkly tentacles made of paper and paint
October 27, 2025 at 8:29 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
Broomsticks (foraged branches, rattan, string)
Two DIY witch brooms suspended on the wall. One has a relatively short and straight handle. The other has a prominent arch.
October 27, 2025 at 8:24 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
Window silhouettes (black poster board)
Three photos of black paper cutouts taped against windows, featuring the silhouettes of a witch and bubbling cauldron, spooky tree and owl, and a haunted house with numerous windows and turrets.
October 27, 2025 at 8:22 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
Monster door (poster board, paint)
Photo of a wooden front door embellished with angry paper eyes with concentric circles of green, yellow, and red and large bloody paper fangs, making the door itself look like part of a larger monster.
October 27, 2025 at 8:20 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
We recently hosted a spooky season celebration. I tried to make most of the decor from recyclable / repurposed materials to reduce waste.

🎃👻🦇🧵of a few favorites:

Spell book (paper, clay, mod podge, fake eye, paint)
A DIY prop spell book with a wrinkled purplish cover, weathered pages at the edges, a hazel eye staring out from the center, and small bronzed metal embellishments.
October 27, 2025 at 8:15 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
Made some Miyazaki soot sprite cake bites. Chocolate cake, chocolate buttercream, chocolate shell, and sprinkles.

Susuwatari (ススワタリ, 煤渡り), also known as soot gremlins or dust bunnies, are fuzzy, golf ball-sized sprites, featured in My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away.
A plate of round chocolate cake bites decorated to look like Miyazaki soot sprites with chocolate sprinkles for fuzz and colorful star sprinkles to mimic the candies they eat. A screen shot from Spirited Away showing the sprites walking around with handfuls of bumpy, somewhat star-shaped Japanese candy konpeitō
October 25, 2025 at 9:12 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
PSA: There's a relatively new and super useful Gmail feature: a "Manage Subscriptions" tab in the lefthand menu under
More. It instantly shows you all the email lists you're subscribed to, including spam, and allows you to unsubscribe from most with the click of a button
Screenshot of lefthand Gmail menu, with "More" at the bottom adjacent to a down arrow Screenshot of options revealed under "More" including Manage Subscriptions
October 23, 2025 at 5:09 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
We grew a squash. An heirloom called sweet meat that grows particularly well in the PNW. It is very large 😳 Just 1/4 filled up my biggest roasting tray.

Fortunately we are hosting a celebration of autumn / spooky season this weekend. I’ll be making a stew, pie, cake, and savory sides.
A giant, vaguely pumpkin-shaped squash with pale blue skin sitting on a wooden chopping board. The same squash sliced in half, revealing orange flesh, similar to a butternut, with central pockets of seeds. A closer view of the richly colored flesh. A roasting tray covered in tinfoil and filled with orange cubes of peeled and sliced squash.
October 22, 2025 at 11:09 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
It's pub day for the latest edition of Best American Science and Nature Writing! Honored to have my work featured along so many other writers I admire, incl @rossandersen.bsky.social @rebeccagiggs.bsky.social @bengoldfarb.bsky.social @sarahzhang.bsky.social Emma Marris & more. Congrats to all!
The cover of The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2025, guest edited by Susan Orlean. Cover features an organic-inspired design of green squiggles and pink dots, like a mass moonlit spawning in a coral reef. Same book open to page featuring "The Whale Who Went AWOL" by Ferris Jabr, published in The New York Times Magazine
October 21, 2025 at 5:09 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
A sisters butterfly, brown with segments of white and orange, tan ripples on the edges, and patches of pale gold A splatter of neon yellow-green lichen on a rock face Ancient ochre human handprints on a rock face A ground squirrel perched on a red rock
October 17, 2025 at 4:09 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
The absolutely stunning Red Rock Canyon, featuring rusted cliffs, shaggy green desert springs, shadow-walking tarantulas, stained glass butterflies, ancient rock art, and neon sprays of lichen
A striking band of rust red rock in a desert cliff against a blue sky A sopping wet desert spring overgrown with algae and grass A lanky black desert tarantula atop a rock A view within Red Rock Canyon of gorgeous multi colored rock structures - pinkish gray blushed red here and there with green dabs of plant life - framed by cacti and shrubs in the foreground
October 17, 2025 at 4:06 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
Saturday Oct 18, I'll be at the Las Vegas Book Festival on a panel about nature writing w/ essayist & author Barret Baumgart, moderated by Dierdre Wolownick (who happens to be the mother of climbing legend Alex Honnold)

Historic Fifth Street School: Empowered Tent: 12:15 PM
lasvegasbookfestival.com
Poster for the Las Vegas Book Festival Text reads: Las Vegas Book Festival Saturday Oct 18 10AM - 5PM Mankind Nature and Language, moderated by Dierdre Wolownick Humanity, nature, and writing about the natural world Ferris Jabr and Barret Baumgart Historic Fifth Street School, Empowered Tent, 12:15 PM
October 16, 2025 at 4:22 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
The world’s first Cactarium and one of its resident tortoises, Tank. Palm Springs, CA.
A greenhouse packed with gorgeous and unusual cacti and succulents, ranging from from the towering and torsioned to the wooly and white to the pendulous and tentacular Tank, an African spurred tortoise, eating a prickly pear. He has robust, thickly scaled gray legs and a tan shell with a grid of adjacent, almost conical peaks made of stacked concentric rings. A creature that exudes an air of the primordial, seemingly plucked from the time of dinosaurs. A large green coral cactus with rounded, undulating, rippled branches. If Van Gogh painted a cactus it would look like this. A stapelia bloom, aka starfish flower. Star shaped. Maroon around the edges, pink in the middle, with many fine zigzagging yellow lines. Rafflesia vibes. A fly rests on one petal.
October 16, 2025 at 1:16 AM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
Views from the 8,516 ft high Mountain Station on Mount San Jacinto, which is accessible by aerial tram
Looking down onto Palm Springs and surrounding valley, thick metal cables of aerial tram descending Another view of the valley and below Mountain peaks covered with conifers Large section of bare gray rock jutting out of mountain forest
October 14, 2025 at 9:04 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
Four more images of Joshua Tree landscapes set against starry skies
October 12, 2025 at 11:13 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
Stargazing in dark sky areas of Joshua Tree National Park
The dark silhouette of a Joshua tree, with its many large, twisting, club-headed branches, against a black-green-blue-amber sky sprinkled with stars Black and white photo of clumpy rock formations against a starry night sky The dark silhouette of a larger Joshua tree, with its many tentacular, club-headed branches, against a black-green-blue-amber sky sprinkled with stars The gorgeous night sky, ink black tinged a dreamy blue, full of distant suns and unknown worlds
October 12, 2025 at 11:11 PM
ferrisjabr.bsky.social
Spotted a roosting Western screech owl
Four photos of a Western screech owl roosting in a tree. The owl is relatively small with large yellow eyes and mottled plumage of gray, black, and white. It’s perched in the y-shaped crook of two branches splitting off the main trunk.
September 9, 2025 at 9:07 PM