The river this town is named for is barely three miles long, a short bright channel carrying the Inland Waterway out of Burt Lake into Mullett, and in February it is about the only thing still moving. Everything else lies under snow — trail crossings, side streets, the drives that have to be opened before anyone goes anywhere. Winter work is plowing, clearing walkways and steps, and salting the slick patches that a bright afternoon and a cold night conspire to make. When the ice finally goes out, the schedule flips to mowing, edging, trimming and the cleanups that follow a northern spring. Same roads, same neighbors, two completely different trucks' worth of gear.