Autumn reaches Upton from the high ground first — Peppercorn Hill and the state forest going copper while the yards down in the village are still holding their green. Bartlett Brothers Landscaping works both elevations, mowing and trimming right through the growing months, then taking on the long haul of leaf cleanups off lawns hemmed in by oak and maple. Winter is a different discipline entirely: plow blades on gravel drives and wooded lanes where snow comes down off the branches a second time. There is a plain pride in pulling up to a house before dawn and leaving it open to the road. Upton is a town of stone walls and back roads, and keeping it tidy takes knowing where they all go.