Losing a finger was just one of those things it would take a while to get used to. Like sleeping in a tree. Or turning into a tree. Or having to eat a whole tree. Or something else to do with trees.
Anyway, J.J. was facing having to get used to it. Not any of the tree things, but the finger thing. He was only just noticing how much he used his pinky and index fingers, especially on his right hand (as he was right-handed). Making snowballs was the first challenged he faced, but he seemed to be doing alright.
His pet mouse, Mickey, began pushing the snow into mini snowballs, as big as the mouse could. J.J. then finished the snowballs, and put them in a pile. When they both thought they had enough, they began making rough bricks. It was at this point J.J. made the decided he wished there was someone else to make the fort with him and Mickey...