April at the Mill Pond. The water is grey, the willows have gone yellow-green, and the ground is finally dry enough to work. Castro's Tree and Lawncare Services Corp opens the Southampton season there — the first cuts of the year, winter litter raked out of the lawn, and the pruning that has to happen before the leaves come on. Storm-broken limbs come down, hedges are shaped, edges are re-cut along the drive. Small things, done in order, and by the second week of May the yard is already ahead of the year.