First frost in Townsend arrives early on the low ground, silvering the last mowing of the year before the sun clears the treetops. Triad Lawn Care Services carries a yard from that morning all the way back around to May — final cuts and leaf cleanup in fall, mowing, trimming and edging all summer, a full clearing-out in spring. Between those two ends there is snow: driveways plowed, walks and steps shoveled, sand or salt laid where the shade keeps ice for a week. A drive opened before anybody needs to leave is the entire point of the winter half. The rest of the year it is a straight edge and an even cut.