February light in Berrien County is flat and silver, and the orchard rows around Eau Claire stand bare on the low hills that run back from the lake. Sosa Tree Services LLC reads a tree well in that season — the shape of it plain, the deadwood obvious, every cut easy to see before the leaves return. Pruning and tree trimming are the slow half of the year; tree removal is for the maple that has finally gone hollow at the base. When a summer squall crosses Lake Michigan and lays a limb over a driveway, storm damage cleanup means saws running at first light and a yard back in order by supper. Fruit country teaches the same lesson every spring: cut thoughtfully now, and the season pays it back.