By eight in the morning at Hood Park the pond has stopped steaming and the grass is still bent with dew — the right hour to see what a lawn actually wants. Ball Landscaping spends its June that way, mowing, edging, trimming close along walks and beds, clearing the clippings before the heat sets in. Spring in Derry starts slow and then arrives all at once, so cleanups come early and mulch goes down while the ground still smells like rain. By fall the maples over these streets drop faster than any rake can keep pace with, and the leaves come up anyway. A yard kept on that rhythm reads as care from the road, which is the whole point.