Pin oaks hold their brown leaves all winter, so the trees here rattle instead of standing silent when a storm comes through. KD Land Works is out under them at four in the morning, headlights full of falling snow, opening driveways and pushing back the ridge the county plow leaves across the end of every one. Walks get cleared down to the concrete and treated, so the first steps of the day are solid ones. Storms in this part of Madison County can start as rain and finish as ice, which changes the plan but never the deadline. The measure of a night's work is a car that backs out at seven without a second thought.