Ice goes out of Lake Memphremagog late, and all of Newport watches for it — a dark seam that opens down the middle of the lake until, one windy afternoon, the whole thing is water again. That is when the season starts. Agway is a farm and garden store here in the Northeast Kingdom, and its lawn work follows the same clock: spring cleanups, mowing once the ground firms up, seed into the bare patches, feeding timed to cold soil finally letting go. Grass this far north gets a short season and spends it enthusiastically. Keeping a yard cut, fed and squared away all summer is a straightforward pleasure, with the lake staying blue in the corner of your eye the whole time.