South of the city, Route 9J runs the flat between the rail line and the Hudson, past the cattails and cottonwoods out toward Papscanee. Brad Rose Landscaping Inc. tends lawns and grounds along that stretch of Rensselaer and up in the neighborhoods on the bluff — mowing and trimming through the growing months, mulch and bed work, cleanups at both ends of the year that finish with the leaves gone and the turf breathing again. When the calendar turns, the same properties get plowed: driveways opened, lots pushed back, walks cleared and salted while the wind comes flat off the water. There is a plain satisfaction in a drive that is wide to the pavement at six in the morning, banks squared off, nothing left to guess at. One property, twelve months, whatever the sky is doing.