West of town the Little River widens out at Reed Bingham, and on a still morning the cypress stand doubled in the water. L&J Lawn Services starts the day in that same early hour, when the dew lies heavy and the mower leaves a dark, clean track across the grass. The work is straightforward and gets done all the way through: mowing, trimming, edging, blowing walks and drives clear before moving on. In Adel the growing season is generous to the point of stubbornness, which makes a kept yard an act of persistence more than anything else. Persistence is the offer, week in and week out, across Adel and the towns just down the road.