First frost in Gratiot County shows up on the Pine River bottoms before it reaches the fields, and by then the box elders along the fencerows have already let go of half their branches. Sarge's Tree Service, LLC runs the section roads out of Sumner with saws and a chipper — tree removal for the hollow silver maple leaning at the barn, tree trimming and pruning to bring an old yard tree back into balance. When a summer line comes through and lays a limb across the drive, storm damage cleanup starts at first light so the day can start on time. There is pride in a cut left flush, a lawn cleared to grass, and a farmyard that looks bigger than it did that morning. Sumner, Ithaca, Alma, Carson City and Riverdale.