DIY microscope case

 Last year, just before the pandemic began in earnest in the UK, I bought a dissecting stereo microscope (it was my birthday present from M). I went for the SX10D from Brunel Microscopes which has an built-in camera and x10, x20 and x40 magnification. I had read that dissecting moss leaves was much easier using a stereomicroscope and now I wonder how I ever coped without it.

One of the attractions of the SX10 was that Brunel were selling a travel case and so when I ordered it I also ordered a case. However, the case was out of stock and between the pandemic slowing imports from China and the general slow-down in shipping in the UK I still don't have the case some 15 months later. I should make it clear that I don't in any way blame Brunel for this - I really recommend them for microscopy supplies in the UK and I bought another microscope from them this year (though that's a whole other story). 

With the summer holidays fast approaching I long to be able to take my 'scope with me so that I can look more promptly at the mosses I collect and (I hope) be able to get back out and practise spotting and naming them. Time to build my own case!

As a first step I looked at making a traditional flight case (plywood with protective metal trims). Whilst this was an attractive project, my workshop facilities are a bit limited, so I decided to go for a Really Useful Box fitted out with foam. When shopping for foam I discovered shadow foam 😀.

I purchased a 19L Really Useful Box from a local supplier and some 5cm deep shadow foam (black and green) from Amazon. The first step was to cut a suitable rectangle from the foam sheet that would fit snuggly in the bottom of the box. The shadow foam can be cut with a sharp utility knife and is very easy to work with. 

The next step was to place the microscope onto the foam and cut around it with the knife. The shape could then be peeled out.

I cut and peeled a second layer at the base and at the top, to get a tighter, deeper fit, leaving the middle section at the first cut height to support the arm and focus knobs. 

This felt pretty snug without any further adjustment and left at least 2cm of foam in place underneath. After checking the fit with the dust cover I then began to cut out other portions around the edge to fit accessories. 

I made space to secure the power cord, the USB cable (links the camera to a PC), as well as the removable base and a petri dish to hold specimens. 

Unfortunately I cut the petri dish space a little close to the edge, and the top surface of the foam split to the edge. However, once fitted into the box, this wasn't a problem.

I was able to fit all equipment into the box and leave a clear 2 cm at the top to allow for deformation of the lid under load. 

For extra stability I used an offcut of the foam (split horizontally) to wedge the base, and there was even room for Watson's flora in the side. I wondered if perhaps I should have left space for Smith's flora, but that would really be overkill for taking on holiday, I think. Anything needing that level of checking can wait until I get home. 

Overall, I'm really pleased with the finished case. I will have to pack dissection tools separately, but the total cost here was just a little less than I had expected to pay for the case and the foam was so easy to work with that I managed to complete the whole thing between putting T to bed and supper being ready. The only "problem" is that I now have two and half large sheets of green and black shadow foam left over. But I'm sure they'll find a use.

Racomitrium lanuginosum

I have been working my way through some old collections of mosses and came to a packet containing a mixture of species from a dry stone wall on Dartmoor. 

I am thrilled with Racomitrium lanuginosum: such a beautiful moss! When dry, there are distinct white hairpoints to the leaves, though these become more or less transparent as the leaves hydrate, but the hair point is coarsely toothed, which is a diagnostic feature for this moss. 

I managed to produce this composite image of one of its large leaves at x40

And then some details at higher magnifications

 And then some details at higher magnifications. 

Here is the toothed margin of the leaf tip at x100

I still have some way to go in getting to grips with the build-in cameras on my microscopes - but I am pleased at the least to capture something of what I see. In the same session I also managed to get this x400 image of Dicranum scoparium. I particularly like the way this image captures the granular nature of the cell contents, the vacuoles and the plasmodemata.

Potatoes

Our first potatoes are in - Maris Peer. Another second early and a main crop to follow when I've got two more beds ready ... time for some more digging!

Escape

So finally the "stay at home" order is lifted and we have been able to escape the town at last! T and I didn't go far, only about 10 miles to Wisley Common, which was quite quiet (in contrast to RHS Wisley across the road, where a very large number of car windscreens were glittering in the sunshine).

The only sad thing was that a lot of other people have suddenly started driving on the roads again. I think that possibly some have not been driving at all for the last three months, and have forgotten key parts of the rules, like not driving in the middle lane when the inside lane is clear 😡. 

2020 Reading

My target was 65 books for 2020 and I managed 62, which given the intense periods of work I had in remote teaching mode during the first UK lockdown is better than I had anticipated.

Here's a photo of most of them collected together.

Most enjoyed (fiction) Terry Pratchett Lords and Ladies. For too long I was put off by the covers of the Terry Pratchett books (I know, don't judge a book ...) but having been introduced to them by M I am really pleased with them. 

Most enjoyed (non-fiction): Anthony Trewavas Plant Behaviour and Intelligence. This is an eye-opening evaluation of what it means to be intelligent and just how much intelligence is shown by plants. My only disappointment was that it was focused on angiosperms, but I really enjoyed learning about many different ideas in plant sciences. 

Best re-read(s): John Buchan The 39 Steps, Greenmantle, Mr Standfast, The Three Hostages, The Island of Sheep. Buchan's "shockers" as he called them are all fast-paced, well-plotted and the scenery is evocatively described, whether that be grimy London, Scottish deer forest, Norwegian Fjord or WW1 trenches . It is without doubt literature from the age of British Imperialism, and many would consider some of the language and themes unacceptable today, but it is literature of its time and to delete it would be to lose something of the richness of the development of the English suspense novel. 

Hardest going: JRR Tolkein - The Silmarillion. I was really proud of myself for making it all the way through and (mainly) keeping track of who everyone was. I read this in the summer, mainly at afternoon tea, sitting in my garden in the shade of next-door's apple tree and I think I will always associate this with the novel. Next up The Hobbit but T is not quite old enough yet. I think the thing that makes The Silmarillion hard-going compared to the other books is that the narrative is all at long-distance. It tells of great and terrible deeds, but the dialogue is limited and you never really "know" the characters. 

Least enjoyed: Robert Harris The Second Sleep. I just didn't "click" with this novel. There seemed to be too many unanswered questions and it felt quite bleak. I am usually a massive fan of his work, so I was surprised. 

I am going to stick with the 65 target for 2021, hoping for a 

Finally ... our Christmas tree is decorated.

We bought our Christmas tree a week ago, but it's been under a dust sheet while we've have some minor building work done. Finally, it's decorated 😀

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, even in Tier 4.

 

Here we go again ...

London is back in lockdown. I can cope without shops, pubs and cinemas. I can cope without socialising, dining out or holding dinner parties. But what I really hate is being shut up in the city, barred from driving 10-12 miles to get into the Surrey countryside and breathe clean air. I'm also longing to see the sea again and really missing the North Norfolk coast and the beaches of Branscombe and Sidmouth. Perhaps, eventually in 2021 we will be able to go again.  

On Monday, before we went into Tier 3 (a week is a long time in the coronavirus pandemic) , I took my son to RHS Wisley and we roamed around enjoying the fresh air and the drizzle and the breeze. I don't mean that ironically - I stood on top of the sprial-pathed mound on the south side of the site and really enjoyed feeling the wind and rain on my face. Being close to the M25/A3 junction it's not really a peaceful spot, but it felt a whole lot less closed in than being in semi-detatched suburbia. Who knows when we'll be aloud back there or onto the North Downs again?

However, on a brighter note, I've bought M one of these for her birthday:

https://www.hotelchocolat.com/uk/velvetiser-hot-chocolate-machine.htm

and it's a BIG hit, making really good hot chocolate. It's quick (2.5 mins) and above all easy to clean. The organic chemist in me is also pleased by the fact that it's basically a magnetic stirrer hotplate under the hood.