October is the long month around here. The maples on the side streets between Red Bank and Fair Haven let go all at once after the first hard blow, and by Saturday every lawn is buried an inch deep. Chace Lawn Service takes that on — final cuts held at the right height, leaves cleared off the turf before they mat down and smother it, beds emptied, corners raked out to the grass. There is real pleasure in the moment a yard comes back into view, still green underneath, ready to go into the cold clean. Then the light goes low and amber by four o'clock, and the year closes tidy.