Between Collinsville and the towns strung out toward Maryville and Troy, the yards run wide and open with nothing between them and a west wind. Keeping lawns like that takes a rhythm more than a rescue — the same day each week, cut at a height that suits the month, trimmed and edged, clippings cleared off the concrete. When winter arrives the routine shifts to plowing and salting drives and lots so the morning begins on solid ground. The Illinois calendar is generous at both ends, green by late March and still workable past Thanksgiving. Care given on a schedule beats care given in a panic, and a yard shows which one it got.