ROUND HILL, Va. — My bare hands were numbed, but I was determined to build a snowman for my sweet little granddaughter. The wet snow packed easily. I rolled a ball quickly across the lawn, building it larger and larger. The base.
Another loop around the lawn formed the body. I strained to lift it into place.
The third phase, the head, was easy.
Cayden, 3, pelted me with tiny snowballs while I created my snow monster.
The last carrot in the refrigerator became his nose. Two sprigs of purple chrysanthemums became eyes. My scarf was wrapped around his neck. I jammed a toy bat into the snowman’s side in honor of the World’s Series. A plastic fireman’s hat topped the creation.
Michelangelo’s David doesn’t look much better.
My first snowman of October. It became part of my son’s Halloween decorations on the lawn.
It snowed here all day on Saturday, most of it melting. There were three inches on the lawn when I made the snowman. On the mountaintop a few miles away, we saw six inches Sunday as we retreated south, glad to have witnessed the rare October snow without getting stuck in it.
Driving north through Roanoke, Va., on Friday afternoon the rain on the windshield started bouncing. Sleet. Our plans to visit the granddaughters seemed ill-timed, but we resisted the impulse to turn around. The weather forecasts were ominous.
We got a cherry pie at Nall’s Farm Market in Berryville, Va., and planned to attend the cutting of their 1,673-pound pumpkin on Saturday. The snow cancelled those plans, but Paul got a seed from the monster on Sunday and plans to grow the world’s biggest pumpkin next summer.
He and Susan have become Virginians. They’ve planted maples to honor the births of their daughters. We spotted eight deer crossing the snowy field behind their home Sunday morning. We’ve seen wild turkeys. With a …