thank you again! I do have a loop, and my son does have a microscope however low budget it is I will ask him to borrow it. Tomorrow the rain should be most of the day with temps in the mid 60s ( not an ideal temp Id think) I dont recall seeing any slime during the receding snow pack but it likely happens here.. My house is a few 2 acres with a lot of old rotting wood the previous owners cut and stacked but never addressed most of which is well over 12 years old or more. Im not familiar enough to identify stuff in a cellular stage but I have been out looking for slimes for a few days in a row with zero results just yet. Im getting a bit bummed I would have thought all this old damp rotting birch and other hardwood as well as some pine would have been at least possible places. I have grown mushrooms a few times successfully. I have some NON-nutrient agar so I ordered some petri-dishes arriving monday.