Blackwater creeks run slow through this part of Duplin County, cypress-shaded and edged with fern where the fields give out. Island Creek Outdoor Products works the mowed side of that line — lawns, ditch banks and open ground around Wallace kept cut, trimmed and clear. Spring here is sudden: one warm week in March and everything green stands up at once. Meeting it means starting the routes early and holding the interval straight through the growing season. The measure of the job is a property that looks looked-after from the road all the way back to the tree line.