Ali Gouch

A poster with a microscope shows a field of microbes that have all arranged themselves to say “funding science saves lives” and a big ol QR that says “scan to learn more”, stapled to a telephone pole on a city street

Finishing up a poster route with science activism posters and remaining native plant posters. Perfect night for a stroll around the neighborhood.

The plant poster project is wrapped for the year but you can get the activism posters at squidfacts.bigcartel.com

A leopard gecko sits on a slate rock in his tank.

he is sitting on his slate rock, and we are watching Star Wars

girls want morels, not morals

A woman colored in all white running to the right. She's a neutrophil in the style of the anime Cells at Work!, and she's holding a dagger. Leave it to the trained professionals.

polymorphonuclear leukocyte, running with a dagger

#cellsatwork

you and your colorful umbrella brighten the day! ☺️☔️

A strawberry rosemary bagel I made this morning, made from strawberries from a local farm in Arkansas. Also made strawberry cream cheese from those strawberries. Background features some plants and a sunny morning window. Foreground text reads: "🍓 from The Cabot Patch."

Fresh-out-tha-oven bagels this morning. From a 48-hour dough. All are strawberry bagels, but some have rosemary and salt, some are poppy, and some are plain.

first time making bagels worked out, I think

should I finish my Ph.D. or open a bakery café?

A bouquet of golden oyster mushrooms grows from an underground root among the grass at the edge of a maple forest. All photos by me

Here are some nice mushrooms

fey apartment complex

My painting GOLDEN HAY BALES

Become a grad student! You'll:

1. smell so badly of mouse food that your mentor physically recoils from you ✅️

2. get 30g of protein 3x/day via shakes and weird Costco snacks ✅️

3. start an experiment at 10am, end at 1am, then realize that you forgot to play music all day ✅️

gouache painting of a deer standing at the edge of the dark woods, looking out to a sunny horizon covered in colorful hills

wood's end

beautiful. can't wait to experience your art when it drops :)

A selfie of me with 5 U-bottom 96-well plates across my arm like one of those money flex pics

The carnage of 28 hours of flow cytometry - many used pipette tips in a waste bag, pipette tip boxes, used gloves, several many flow antibodies, 5 96-well plates, and lab notes on a lab bench.

Therapist: 10 flow cytometry panels can't hurt you

Me: u right

10 flow cytometry panels: 🤕

Sun filtering through forest in front of lake.

rocks are so pretty :)

a beautiful fountain on a beautiful bright blue and cloudy day.

may the fourth be with you

I am always thrilled to look at this little bit of water in the foreground, with a tiny bit of dirt and rocks large enough to support the growth of a bush of some kind. Trees and long grasses behind it. I like rocks and water together. It's a good combo.

Natural grass and trees and about-to-set sunlight.

how lucky am I to live somewhere green

Looks like a creature from Jim Henson's Labyrinth

I'm holding up two books in front of a cute brick shop called Paper Hearts bookstore. The books are "Braiding Sweetgrass" and "The Serviceberry," both authored by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

indie bookstore for the win

i try to spread the word about jumping spiders whenever it comes up in conversation ❤️ they're so cute

A leopard gecko sits on the cooler side of his 40-gallon tank by a fake plant. Behind him is the warmer side of his tank.

I have a new #leopardgecko. Behold, my son: Spot.

As such, I have been calling him Sunspot. And Sunny. Many more nicknames to come. I'm a lizard mom now!

A 'gonian!

A friggin' lot of strawberries.

I bit into a fresh strawberry, and there was a prize inside. Extra protein!

farm fresh, thanks arkansas

My painting TROUT WATER

My digital drawing of a tic-tac box full of mints. The label reads "tic-tac PLAGUE." Also on the label are pictures of a plague doctor and a reaper scythe. The label touts the mints as being "non-pathogenic!" but also claims that the 100 CFU contained within the box are "69% more virulent!" I think the marketing team got confused. I drew the plague doctor from a photo reference that I found online by melting_heart_tattoo_designs.

#Yersinia mints. Non-pathogenic, yet still virulent? I dont trust the marketing.

A dry erase sketch of the Death Star destroying some innocent civilian planet

a horrifying dry-erase sketch representation of the Bucc-ee beaver(?) thing

how we all feel as graduate students

Sketch of a 7-Brew brand large iced coffee

lil' bit of dry erase board nonsense on a Friday afternoon

🎷🐛🌿

A single scarlet elf cup grows on a stick lying in a bed of moss. The spring sunlight illuminates its fleshy structure. All photos by me

Here is a nice mushroom

Touching grass is not enough I need to get stuck in a hollow log

A wanted poster for seaturtle sightings on a wooden post.

I'm on a dock acting a fool.

Railroad Ave. street sign, and the back of a road sign with a lot of street art stickers on it!

Pie in the Sky Bakery ambiance.

First morning pre-conference accomplishments:

✔️ support local coffee shop

✔️ talk with some locals and learn a lot

✔️ freeze balls off in beautiful rainy windy weather