Sugar Hill rides a ridge, and on cool mornings the fog sinks into the creek bottoms and leaves the high yards clear first. That is where the day begins for A.G. Duke Outdoor Services — the mower coming off the trailer while the red clay is still dark with dew. The work itself is plain and steady: mowing, edging, string trimming, and clearing the clippings off walks and drives on a schedule a yard can count on. There is a quiet pride in the last pass of the afternoon, when the lines run true all the way to the curb and the border along the driveway reads like a drawn edge. Neighbors two doors down usually notice before the homeowner gets home from work.