Auburn wakes in layers — the mill blocks along the Owasco Outlet first, then the long streets running south toward the lake. Tom Weaver & Son Excavating gets ahead of that clock, plowing lots and drives while the city is still dark and stacking snow where it won't eat a parking space or blind a corner. Walks and entryways are cleared and salted, because the ten feet between a car door and a front door is where winter actually catches people. Lake-effect off Ontario can turn a forecast into a joke, so the work gets measured in return trips rather than single passes. By the time the sun comes up over Owasco, the ground is open and the day can start on time.