Evening over the Alpena Wildlife Sanctuary brings the swans in close and turns the river the color of a struck match, and out in the township the last mowers of the day are shutting down. Grass Hoppers keeps that end-of-day standard: lawns cut even, string work tight around posts and beds, walks blown clean before the truck pulls away. Autumn shifts the job to leaves, hauled off before they mat down and smother what took all summer to grow. Then comes plowing — drives opened, the ice-prone corners handled, pavement given back to whoever needs to be somewhere. One township, four seasons of small, visible improvements.