Downtown lots are narrow and the buildings are old, so the grass between a stoop and the sidewalk gets measured in feet rather than acres. Work on those blocks — the grade climbing out of Sheridan Hollow, the side streets off Pearl — calls for a smaller touch: trimmed edges, a mowing line that fits the shape it's handed, beds kept neat against brick. Come winter the same geometry becomes shoveled walks, a plowed driveway apron, and salt where north-facing shade keeps ice alive past noon. Wind funnels between the downtown buildings and drifts snow into precisely the doorways people need open. Getting those doorways clear is the entire point of the morning.