The White River runs cold past Beaver, and on summer mornings the air coming off the water is ten degrees kinder than the air up on the bluff. Vern Boys Lawn Care mows the yards and river places tucked into that Carroll County country — steep ground, rock close to the surface, trees on every side — trimming tight around foundations and stone and edging whatever walks there are. Ozark grass grows in bursts after the rain and then sulks through the August dry, so the cut has to suit the week rather than the calendar. Fall in these hills is loud with color and heavy with leaves, and clearing them becomes a season of its own. A trimmed yard on that bluff, with the river running below it, is a sight.