The first cut of the year is the best one: early April, the ground finally firm underfoot, the smell of it carrying two blocks down toward the old Morris Canal line where the towpath still runs behind the houses. MLM Landscaping and Lawn Care opens the season with cleanups — winter debris raked out, beds redefined, mulch laid, turf opened back up to the light. After that it is the weekly cut, the trim along the fences, the edge along the walk, straight through to the last leaves of November. Nothing about it is loud, and by June the whole street has forgotten what it looked like in March. That forgetting is the compliment.