By late October the cottonwoods and sycamores along Prairie du Pont Creek have let go of most of what they were holding, and every yard in Cahokia is wearing a layer of it. Mainstream landscaping LLC spends those weeks on cleanup: leaves off the turf, beds cut back, and a final mow set low so the lawn goes into winter clear. Earlier in the year that same route is mowing, trimming and edging, week after week through the wet green months. There is a plain satisfaction in a loaded trailer and a bare lawn behind you at dusk. Come April the grass returns and the whole cycle starts again.