In January the hardwoods west of town stand bare and you can finally see the shape of the land — the roll of the red-clay ridges, the low wet lines where water wants to run. All Seasons Grading & Land Clearing reads ground like that: clearing brush and overgrowth, opening up a lot, grading so a slope drains where it should instead of where it wants to. The same crew keeps grass in line the rest of the year, mowing, edging and trimming lawns around Lithia Springs once the growing starts in earnest. Douglas County soil packs hard and sheds water fast in a summer downpour, so getting the grade right is the difference between a yard and a gully. There is a good kind of pride in handing back a piece of ground that finally makes sense.