December 3, 2011 – IT'S BEEN SAID — AND MOSTLY SUNG — that Frosty the Snowman was "a jolly, happy soul." Being comprised of the cold, white, frozen stuff might make one predisposed to snow. But as it stands, my flesh is human. Snow makes me cold and grumpy.

Years ago, I bade goodbye to East Coast climes better known for Frosty's DNA. Unlike so many San Diegans — who don't know a good thing when it's registered at 72 degrees on their backyard thermometers — you won't see me trampling out to East County when fallen powder paints the green hills and valleys.

BY RON DONOHO • PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARTIN MANN

WORKING ON A JOB WHERE INTERACTION with the client was literally impossible was a first for veteran landscaper Harry Thompson.

A face-to-face meeting is out of the question, however, when the customer is deceased.

Thompson, who's run Torrey Pines Landscape Company for 35 years, was contacted last year by a Scripps Ranch homeowner about a garden makeover. When Thompson arrived at the house, 86-year-old Walt Bossert showed him inside.