Crossing the Ninth Street causeway in October, the marsh runs gold on both sides and Great Egg Harbor Bay throws light up at the bridge rail. Nolen's Landscaping runs that road into Ocean City with mowers in the warm months and a plow blade when the cold turns serious. Fall on the island is the long tapering season — cuts spaced further apart, leaves collecting in the lee of fences, beds knocked back before the wind takes over. Then comes the morning when the bay steams and the streets go white, and the work becomes driveways and walks opened before anyone needs them. Two seasons, one habit: get there early, finish the edges, leave nothing half done.