September in Sea Isle: the crowds thin, the light off Townsends Inlet turns long and clear, and the island becomes a year-round town again. Autumn is when yards get put right — final mowings, trimming and edging brought back to a defined line, and the cleanups that clear the beds before the northeasters start. Winter brings plowing, shoveling and salt for the driveways and walks along the boulevard, storm by storm, until the grass starts up again in April. Working an island means learning where the wind piles things and where salt burns the turf. Knowing that is what lets a lawn here look green in July.