The ground under Hazel Park is old lake bottom, flat and heavy and stubborn about where water decides to go. That makes the difference between a green July and a scorched one a matter of a few well-placed heads and a controller set honestly. Spring here starts with the system waking up: charging the lines, walking every zone, watching the spray reach the corner by the driveway instead of the sidewalk. Through the warm months the lawn work carries on around it, mowing and edging and beds kept in order, and in October the whole system gets blown clear before the first freeze can find it. There is a real pleasure in a yard that stays even and deep in color while the strip along Nine Mile goes pale.