Winter strips the Gilmer County hillsides down to their bones, and every leaning trunk and dead limb the leaves were hiding shows up plain. Tito Rodas Tree Services & Painting takes advantage of that clarity, removing what is finished, trimming crowns back off roofs and wires, and pruning while a tree is dormant and easy to read. Wind coming across Carters Lake can push a weakened pine over on a still, cold Tuesday, so storm damage cleanup runs straight through the cold months here. Downtown Ellijay warms up by noon most days, and the work carries on into that thin gold afternoon. A cleared, tidied lot in February is a promise about April.