East of the borough the land goes flat and open, farm fields running out to a distant treeline, and at sunrise the fog sits low over them until the light burns it off. New Jersey Irrigation Services works that open country and the streets of Hightstown alike, mowing and trimming through the growing months and turning to snow when the fields go white and the wind crosses them unbroken. Summer is even cuts, tidy edges and cleanups that leave a clear line between bed and lawn. Winter is plowed drives, shoveled walks and salt down early, so a household can get out to Route 130 without a fight. Two seasons that share nothing except the habit behind them: arrive, and leave the ground in better shape than it was found.