Fog rides in off San Pablo Bay some mornings and settles over the restored marsh at Hamilton, where the old airfield's hangars still stand along the edge of town. Bill Doughty Landscaping works in a Novato shaped by that bay light, soft and gray at first, then sharp and bright once the fog burns back. Downtown, the shops and cafes of Grant Avenue open their doors under the street trees, and the neighborhoods spreading out from Old Town are full of lawns worth keeping up. Autumn here is a sweet, dry season of warm afternoons and falling leaves, and it is when mowing, edging and a thorough cleanup make the most visible difference. As the first storm of the rainy season sweeps across the bay, the yards tidied in October are ready for it.