West of Rome the land folds into long ridges and open valleys running toward the Alabama line, and the lawns out there stretch wide between fence rows. Big yards ask for a plan: mow the open ground first while the dew is off, then walk the trimmer along the posts, the gate, the shed corner, all the places a mower can never quite reach. Edging gives the drive its shape back, and a pass with the blower keeps the gravel and the grass on their own sides. Floyd County afternoons come on heavy in summer, so the day starts early and follows the shade around the house. What the valleys get by sundown is a row of places that look level, tended and calm.