October empties Houghton Lake out slowly — boats come off the water, cottage windows go dark one road at a time, and the oaks and maples start filling the yards faster than any wind can carry them off. Lear's Lawn Services Inc works straight through it: the final mowings taken a little lower, leaf cleanup hauled away, edges cut back, the yard put to bed square and clean ahead of the freeze. Earlier in the year it's the steady rhythm — mowing, trimming, edging, keeping the grass even from the road all the way down to the water. The closing visit is the one people remember, because a yard raked out before the first snow covers it comes back easier in May. Lawn care around Houghton Lake and the towns nearby.