At five in the morning a Wyandotte alley in January is the loneliest street in Michigan, and it still has to be opened. Michaels Landscaping & Lawn runs that winter route — plowing drives, clearing walks, salting the shaded stretches that turn to glass by daybreak. Half a year later the same properties want mowing, trimming and edging, with the grit of March cleanup hauled off before anything can grow through it. Downriver ground is heavy clay and holds water a long while, so timing a cut after rain is its own small skill. Both ends of the calendar come down to the same thing — showing up before it turns into a problem.