By Susan Shanklin

Eve, our five-year-old Minneapolis granddaughter, came to the farm to stay the weekend recently and we built our first-ever snowman on the Shanklin’s 3.3 acres.

Why no snowman was ever built before puzzles even me.

Anyway, we had just enough snow on the ground and the temperatures had warmed up significantly enough to make the snow stick together, so it was good for rolling.

Eve, one of our six grandchildren, (The sixth is due in June), is what we call our “hippy” grandchild. All of our gbabies, as I call them, are special, unique, smart, talented, funny and the list goes on. Ha! But Eve is very creative and imaginative. She is free-spirited and loves to be outside. She will help in the garden, dig for worms, stare at the windmill as it turns in the wind, collect eggs from the barn, and loves to be out in the pasture with the sheep. Inside she loves to decorate my stairs with ribbon and trinkets. She pours over buttons in the button tin and assembles “stuff” in groups that are very beautiful to her. Another one of her passions is cooking (especially pasta or cookies) that need to be cut out.

Eve enjoys her world and life…hippie child. 🙂

We find the perfect location for our snowman, a place where everyone who comes will see and enjoy our creation. It’s on the edge of the lawn of the circle driveway. Here we will start.

Both Eve and I start rolling snow. I roll and roll. Eve rolls and rolls. Mine is getting larger and Eve’s is small like the size of a soccer ball.

“Here,” she says, handing me the small lumpy small ball of snow.

I say, “Oh, I think we need something larger for a good foundation to build on. Something that can handle the weight of the tummy and the head.”

Eve just kind of looks at me. I figure if I use her ball of snow for the foundation, it’s going to be a mighty small snowman and I know Eve would be disappointed in that idea, so I say, “I tell you what. I will make the first snowball for the foundation and you make the next two.”

This is a pleasing idea to Eve and we both set out together as a team snowman-building machine.

Roll, roll, roll. Bigger and bigger the base snow ball grows.

Excellent. Something to hold the weight of the snowballs and solid enough to support any future work.

Eve rolls and rolls the next lumpy ball and Gma picks it up and places on the foundation ball base.

We both beam with success and Eve wanders off to create and roll the head.

I patch up the seam and add and smooth snow to achieve a likeness to a snowman.

It looks ok, but a snowman isn’t a snowman without eyes, noise, and arms!

Eve finds rocks for a smile and eyes, and I run into the house and dig a carrot out of the sand from the root cellar.

I gather branches for the arms but Eve wants the honors of ramming them into the sides of the snowman as I relinquish the pleasure to her. Rats!

We stand back and beam with satisfaction and Eve says, “He needs a scarf!”

I run inside and grab a scarf that actually Eve will wear and Eve raps it around the snow man and twists to secure. I step in and knot it, so it won’t blow away.

Man, we make a excellent team!

Percy, the farm cat, comes and brushes up against the snowman making the snowman an official person. Ha ha! Back and forth goes Percy the cat. “Ahhhhhh,” he seems to says, “I have a friend now.” (Right, until he melts)

Back in the house Eve and I go, leaving our work of art for the animals and peoples to enjoy.

Team work makes the dream work.