Route 3 crosses the top of Palermo and the side roads climb away from it into country that goes quiet fast after dark. S D Childs & Sons Excavation is out on those roads at two in the morning when a storm is filling in — plowing driveways and yards, shoveling steps, spreading sand on the pitches that ice over first. In the warm months the same properties get mowing, trimming, edging and seasonal cleanups on a regular turn. There is something plainly satisfying about being the reason a long dirt drive is passable by breakfast. The work covers Palermo, China, Windsor, Liberty, Somerville and Freedom.