The Old Northside is lined with large Victorian houses built during Indianapolis's earliest boom years, set back behind wrought iron fences that catch a fine layer of ice before anything else on the block does, their wide front walks laid in a century of brick and stone that a plow blade would tear up in a season. Clearing ground like that is closer to landscaping than plowing -- a shovel and a broom more often than a blade, working carefully around fence posts and low garden walls that were never built with snow removal in mind. The neighborhood's mature trees, some of the oldest in the city, drop ice onto those walks well after the storm itself has passed, so a morning pass often needs a follow-up once the canopy has finished shedding. Carriage houses tucked behind the main homes, converted long ago into garages, get their own short private lanes cleared separately, narrow strips barely wider than a car. It's careful, old-fashioned ground to work, and it rewards a light touch over a heavy one.