The first cut of the year comes on some unreasonable April morning when the ground is still soft and the grass has gotten ahead of everybody. Ramirez Landscaping meets it early, wheels on wet turf, dew flying off the deck, the winter's worth of grit and stray leaves cleared away so the lawn can start clean. Along the busy North Avenue corridor the houses sit close to the traffic, and a sharp lawn is what separates a home from the noise in front of it. From that first pass the schedule runs steady through summer — mowing, trimming, edging, beds kept weeded — until the fall cleanup puts everything to bed. There is a real lift in the moment a tired yard turns green and orderly in a single morning. That lift is why the truck leaves early.