Saturday morning in Hickory sounds like one mower, then two, then somebody's dog objecting to both. THOMPSON'S LAWN CARE is usually the first of them, out while the shade still reaches across the front yards, cutting long lines and working the trimmer around the porch, the posts and the beds. Edges are laid down along the drive so the grass stops halfway through its argument with the concrete. Cleanups through the year keep leaves and wind-thrown litter off the turf where they would otherwise sit and brown it. By the time the heat sets in the yard is finished, and the rest of the day belongs to whoever lives there.