The first real snow of December usually announces itself over the open meadow at Westmoor Park, coming across the grass in a grey curtain an hour before it reaches the driveways. Clover Land Maintenance and Development LLC treats that first one as the season's handshake: routes set, edges marked, blades ready before the flakes stack. Around West Hartford the crew opens driveways, cuts clean paths to front doors and side entries, and lays treatment where shade keeps pavement frozen long after the rest of the yard has let go. Snow work is unglamorous and enormously appreciated, which is a fine combination. Nothing beats pulling away from a property knowing whoever lives there will step outside to bare ground.