You inspired me to spend a lunch break collecting specimens, though it got me caught in a sudden spring rainstorm. I gathered a wad of moss from a stone wall, some other greenish stuff that might be moss from some stones on the ground, and some more green organic matter on a tree, all three samples taken near a river. I realized that it has been a long time since high school biology and I am pretty ignorant in the realms of moss, lichen, algae, mold, and fungus. Metro card for scale. As the rain and wind picked up, I struggled to record an eVox for cW documenting the adventure. Back at the office, I cut the bottoms off some spring water bottles I had bought for the purpose, and left my tardigrade-rich organic matter soaking over the weekend. A few days passed, and I tried in vain to spot the waterbears frolicking in my fake petri dishes. It didn't help that my microscope was one half of a pair of binoculars held backwards. b_b, this is your line of work, can you recommend a strategy for acquiring a decent binocular dissecting microscope on the cheap? There are some on eBay in the $100 range, but they are new and I suspect that I might get better value buying used, if I can find something with undamaged optics. Ruler showing millimeter marks for scale. I neglected to remove the samples, continuing to add water as necessary, and after two or three weeks I had some growth, but I think it is time to liberate my samples before they start to stink. I like the idea of having a living thing in my otherwise sterile cubicle, a form of emotional sustenance. But maybe for now I should stick to something simpler.realize that tardigrades are awesome.
I have also completed only Step 1.
