Come December every drive and lot in the city becomes a surface that has to be won back each morning. CNY Sealing & Paving takes that on across Syracuse — plowing the pavement clear, opening the walks, spreading salt at the aprons and thresholds where ice always finds its way first. Down along South Salina Street the wind funnels between the buildings and drifts a lot corner overnight, and up on the hill the shade holds a glaze until noon; both quirks are worth knowing before the blade goes down. There is a specific pleasure in seeing the surface reappear behind a plow, dark and dependable again. Winter here is long, but it is handled one clearing at a time.