Leaves come down late around North Evans — the oaks hold on into November, then let go over one windy weekend until every yard on the cul-de-sac wakes up buried. That is the fall work: clearing lawns and beds before the wet mats it all down, mowing a final time at the right height, and hauling the leaves away so the turf can breathe through the cool months. Columbia County winters are short and forgiving, which means a yard put to bed properly in November comes back fast in March. There is a plain pride in a cleared lawn on a cold morning, no drifts in the corners, edges still cut, everything squared away. Then the quiet, and then it all begins again.