A Southborough weekday starts before the sky does — headlights strung along Route 9, the commuter platform on the town's south side filling while it is still dark. JHI Properties keeps grounds ready for that clock. In winter that means plowing lots and drives and clearing walkways before the first car turns in, with ice treated where shade holds the cold long after noon. In the green months it means mowing on schedule, trimmed edges, and cleanups in spring and autumn as the Sudbury River lowlands go from full leaf to bare branch. Fayville, Cordaville, the roads out past the reservoir — each property has its own timing, and the timing is the trade. The measure of it is simple: nobody arrives and has to think about the ground underfoot.