East of town the long shoulder of Schunnemunk stands against the sky, and when a storm slides down off it the roads of Hamptonburgh go white in an hour. Snow work here is a matter of timing: out early, back again mid-storm, and once more when the wind has finished drifting the open stretches. Driveways and parking areas are plowed to their true edges, walkways are shoveled, and salt or sand goes down where ice likes to gather. There is real satisfaction in a lot that looks swept rather than scraped, with the piles stacked where they belong instead of in front of somebody's door. Winter asks the same question every year, and this is the answer.