April in Gainesville arrives yellow — pine pollen on every hood and handrail, dogwood opening white in the shaded lots. Carrillo landscaping works straight through it, mowing and edging, string trimming, shaping shrubs and hedges, weeding beds, laying fresh mulch and pine straw, and running the first cleanups of the year. Pine straw is this region's own bedding, and there is real pleasure in raking it even and watching a bed come back into its shape. Summer brings the heavy growth and a weekly cut; autumn sends leaves down the slopes in windrows. Around Gainesville, Oakwood and Flowery Branch the year never fully stops — it only changes what wants doing next.