The Husband and I have taken to diving in a freshwater lake about an hour’s drive from our house. The lake in question used to be an open-pit coal mine, which was flooded when the coal ran out.

At first, we thought the strange dark lumps we could see at the bottom might be left-over pieces of coal but upon closer inspection, they turned out to be moving slightly:

Lots of small mussels, opening and closing.

Here you can see that the mussels attach to an object on the ground and then merge into a colony:

The photo isn’t great but I thought I’d include it because the wood is still visible.

I love how out of great destruction, life and a new habitat can spring. I often wonder about the world without us.