Late afternoon in the north end of New London: mower noise fading, sprinklers ticking, the river showing silver between the houses down by Riverside Park. Tim's Lawn Care spends its days on those yards — the narrow strips between porches, the corner lots, the deeper back lawns that run out toward the fence line. Mowing, trimming, edging; leaves hauled off in November before they mat down for the winter; beds opened up again once April loosens the ground. Small yards are unforgiving, since every wobble in the line shows from the sidewalk. Cut them straight and the whole block looks better for it.