The Los Angeles River runs the eastern edge of South Gate in one long gray curve, and at first light the path beside it belongs to egrets and to people who start before the heat does. DC Lawn Care LLC keeps those hours. Mowers come off the trailer while the air is still cool, the cut goes down even across the front lawn, and the trimmer picks up the fence lines and the base of the mailbox post. By the time the sun clears the rooftops the walks are blown clean and the crew is on the next street. There is a particular satisfaction in a block of finished yards behind you and the morning not yet half spent.