The Grand River begins small south of Jackson and is already through downtown before most of the city is awake — a working river for a working town. Wolverine Lawn Services, Inc. keeps to that same rhythm on both ends of the calendar. Warm months mean mowing, trimming, edging and hauling off whatever the season sheds; cold months mean plowing lots and drives, clearing walks, and treating the ice that sets up overnight on north-facing steps. A gray January here rarely announces itself — three inches arrive on an ordinary Tuesday and that is that. By the time the first cars are moving on Michigan Avenue the pavement is open again, and that is the entire point of the job.