A bare slope in May is about the most hopeful thing in northern Michigan — raw sand and rain, waiting to become something. North Bay Hydroseed sprays Petoskey ground with seed, mulch and tackifier, then watches the green haze come up around the fourth or fifth day, faint at first and then everywhere at once. New lawns, patched lawns, banks that would sooner wash out than hold: hydroseeding gets cover on them quickly and keeps the soil in place while roots take hold. Mowing and lawn upkeep follow once the stand is thick enough to take a blade. Turning a scraped lot into a yard is a slow trick performed quickly, and it never stops being satisfying to watch.