The North Branch of the Rancocas runs dark as tea past Browns Mills, and the year along it comes in two halves. From thaw to leaf-drop, J & C Lawn Service is mowing, trimming and edging, keeping cleanups moving as the oaks let go. Then the light shortens and the same trucks turn to plowing driveways and clearing walks, so a household can get out at whatever hour it needs to. Snow in the Pines is a soft arrival — it comes straight down, it settles in the branches, and it still has to come off the concrete. Between the two halves there is one continuous thing: a property somebody can use, no matter what the sky did overnight.