October is the hinge of the year down by Madison and Venice, where the McKinley Bridge carries traffic out over the water and each mow of the month comes a little shorter than the last. Frankie's Landscaping works that turn, mowing, trimming and edging right up to the leaf drop, then hauling the cleanup off the yards before the ground goes hard. When winter lands, the same trucks are out with plow and salt, opening drives and clearing walks while the streetlights are still burning. Two kinds of work, one property, and no gap in between them. Granite City and its river-edge neighbors keep both halves of that calendar busy.