The Ozark foothills that start just north of Alma are made of layered stone, and the ground gives some of it up in every hillside cut. Tom Perry Landscaping & Stonework builds with that material — walls set course by course, steps and borders laid so a sloped yard becomes places a person can actually stand — alongside the landscaping and lawn work that keeps the green parts even. Mowing, trimming and edging hold the week together; the stone is the part that stays put for decades. There is a moment near the end of a wall when the last cap goes down and the line finally reads true from the road. In the low autumn light around here, a dry-laid wall and a freshly cut lawn look like they grew up together.