By November the hay fields between Lincolnton and the Wilkes County line have gone tawny, and the tree lines stand out dark against them. Southeastern Property And Land Services spends that stretch on the bigger work — lawns cut down for the cold, fence rows trimmed out, leaves cleared off grass and gravel, overgrowth pushed back where it belongs. Open Georgia land will take itself back inside a single warm season if it isn't argued with. So the mowing keeps its schedule spring through fall, and the cleanup keeps the winter honest. A property with clean edges tells you plainly that somebody has been here.