Egypt Creek runs down through the hemlock ravines east of Grand Rapids and freezes at its edges first, lacework spreading inward from the banks. Egypt Creek Landscaping takes its name from that water and its winter work from the roads above it, plowing the drives that climb away from the creek bottoms where cold air settles and stays. Long private drives get opened end to end, turnarounds get cleared wide enough to swing a car, and walks are cleared and gritted where the shade holds ice all day. Snow out there is beautiful and entirely impractical; the job is keeping it from deciding anyone's morning. By ten the ravine is still white and the driveway is not.