The first cut of the year usually lands in March, on a morning when frost is still silver in the shade at the top of the ridge and gone by nine on the sunny side. Castle Tree and Lawn opens the season around Dahlonega with cleanups — winter debris hauled off, beds re-edged, the deck set high for that tentative first pass — then settles into steady mowing and trimming. Elevation counts for a lot in Lumpkin County; a yard up on the mountain wakes a couple of weeks behind one down along the highway. Getting that timing right is why a lawn looks strong in May instead of merely alive. It is a small discipline, and it shows in the color.