Route 9 was the road here long before the highway was, and along it the older part of Manahawkin still keeps its oaks and its short, deep front yards. S & S Landscaping mows and edges those, working around root flares and shade lines that no two properties share. Late in May the oaks finally leaf out, the grass changes its mind about how fast to grow, and the schedule tightens up. A trimmed hedge line and a sharp border along an old sidewalk make a house look like somebody is watching over it. In a township growing as fast as this one, that steadiness reads from the street.