The Groundsmen

About The Groundsmen

South and west of Norwalk the Great Western Trail runs down past Cumming toward Martensdale, and by September the ditches beside it have gone to gold. The Groundsmen keep a crew's pace through those weeks — mowers, trimmers and blowers crossing a property in order, then gone, leaving only the lines behind. Weekly and biweekly mowing, trimming around trees and foundations, walks edged clean, clippings cleared off the concrete every single time. Fertilization and weed control hold the turf through the heat; autumn brings aeration, overseeding and leaf cleanup as the oaks start letting go. There is a rhythm to running a route across one town, from the newest cul-de-sacs at the edge of the fields to the older grid near the center, and keeping that rhythm is most of the work.