The first hard frost in Bad Axe tends to show up in early October, silvering the lawns on the side streets while the maples are still holding their color. Grass keeps growing a while after that, slower, and the last cuts of the year are the ones that decide how it comes through until April. Then the plowing begins — drives opened, paths cleared to the porch, salt laid where the sun never quite reaches all winter. At thaw the yard gets raked out, the beds cleaned, and mowing picks back up with edging and trimming to sharpen every line. Small-town lots, looked after in every month that has weather in it.