Outside a bar in downtown Menlo Park, ice had been dumped at the base of a tree. Here it had piled so high that the dirt was no longer visible. This was a good way to get rid of ice because it melted for the benefit of the tree.

Ice dumped on the ground surrounding a tree planted in the sidewalk began to melt thereby forming an indistinct edge between the dump of ice and the dirt. The effect was as if the dirt were slowly being revealed.

By looking straight down, the ice appeared to be at the top of a cross-section of dirt, and slowly melting down into the dirt. The inevitable result of melting ice mingling with dirt is mud.