Long before the first boat leaves Belford, headlights are already crossing the lots — that is the hour Alpha Landscaping works in winter. Plows go down, walkways get cleared, salt goes out ahead of the refreeze so a drive is open when the alarm clocks start. Come April the same routes turn green and the job becomes mowing, edging, trimming and hauling off a season's worth of leaf litter and marsh grit. Middletown Township asks for both in one year: harbor cold that hardens overnight, and long humid growing weeks that never let up. Finishing either one before anyone has to think about it is the whole point.