October turns the silver maples over Rochester Hills all at once, and for about three weeks the yards are prettier than they are practical. Prolific Green handles what comes after — leaf cleanup, cutting, trimming and edging, and putting lawns to bed before the ground locks up. The last mow of the year is its own small ceremony, a clean sweep across grass that will not need another until April. Autumn here is short and bright and then abruptly over, so the work runs at a pace to match. A yard raked down to bare, tidy turf in November is a good sight going into a Michigan winter.