Winter storms cross the open ground west of Montgomery long before they reach a porch light, and by four in the morning the cul-de-sacs are white to the curb. Shoreline Landcare is out in it — blade down on the drives, shovel for the steps, ice melt on the north-side walks that never see sun all season. When the thaw comes the same routes turn green, and the work becomes mowing, trimming and hauling off what the cold left behind. A property held steady all year takes on a certain evenness, and neighbors notice it. Two halves of the calendar, this stretch of Kane and Kendall County, either side of the freeze.