Shenipsit State Forest climbs behind Somers, and Soapstone Mountain sets the weather for the town below — leaves come off up there first and snow lingers up there longest. Working under that hill means keeping two calendars. Warm months are grounds work: mowing, trimming, edging, brush and limb cleanup, mulch and bed care, and the heavy fall cleanups that this much tree cover demands. Cold months turn to snow: plowing drives and lots, blowing out drifted areas, clearing walks and entries, and sanding icy grades. The properties run wooded and steep in places, which is exactly the ground where a cleared, sanded driveway is the difference between a normal morning and a bad one.