In October the grain trucks come through the Burlington crossroads all day, and a fine dust settles on everything that is not moving. Ratliff Landscaping is out in it anyway, finishing the mowing year and turning to leaves — raked, gathered, hauled, beds cleared before the freeze takes hold. The rest of the calendar is the steady part: weekly cuts, trimming close along fences and foundations, edging that gives a yard its outline. Village lots and the places just outside the village get the same pass. By the time the truck pulls off, the property has its lines back.