Bedford sleeps in on a storm morning; the plows do not. Ulster Property Services LLC works the dark hours along the ridges above the Merrimack, cutting driveways open, scraping walks down to pavement and salting the shaded pitches where ice hangs on longest. Snowbanks are carved wide at the mouth of each drive so a car can see the road before it enters it. Sanding keeps the steep grades off Wallace Road usable when a thaw refreezes overnight. The measure of the night is simple — by the time headlights are moving on Route 101, the way out is already open.