This was a curious find on a New Year’s Day walk through Florence. In late summer you might see a shape like this left by a casually tossed garden hose — that trail of compressed brown grass revealed under a neglected line. But in this case the silhouette’s been “burned” into the snow, melted by the meager warmth of an electric extension cord.
The delicate meandering line reminds me of an aerial view of the Mississippi River, or even our own Connecticut River Oxbow. But now it’s already failed the test of time, thanks to last weekend’s more-than-meager warmth.
— Text and photo by Kevin Gutting