Late October in the valleys north of Succasunna the maples go over all at once, and the first cold rain in November carries a few flakes with it — a warning shot. Jc Valley Landscaping spends those weeks finishing the year's mowing and pulling leaves off lawns before the ground locks up. Then the gear changes over and the same properties get worked from the other side of winter, plowing drives and opening walkways in the dark. The Highlands hold snow longer than the flats do; a storm here is still on the ground a week after the towns downriver are bare. Which means the work is never one night — it is a whole season, kept up.