Some December mornings the ground around Galesburg rings underfoot, frozen hard enough that gravel lanes stop shifting and hold their shape until April. That is when Cochran Excavations LLC turns its attention to snow, working the drives and lots where the going is rough and a light touch matters more than horsepower — blade set just above the stone so the lane comes clean without pulling half of it into the yard. Snow gets stacked back at the corners where it belongs, out of the sightlines, clear of the spot where the mail truck has to stop. In a storm the phone tends to ring from the properties with the longest approach and the least patience for being stuck. Coming down that lane at first light and finding it open is a small thing that makes an entire day possible.