Summer storms come at Columbia from across the river, stacking up white over Missouri in the afternoon and arriving with everything they have. Froess Outdoor Services works around them — mowing ahead of the rain, coming back for the trimming and edging once the ground firms up, holding a route on schedule in weather that has no interest in schedules. Along the creek bottoms the sycamores shed bark and limbs all season, and the cleanup work is real work. Autumn is leaves, spring is the winter's mess, and the months between are grass, one route at a time. There is a good feeling in a fresh-cut lawn steaming a little as the sun comes back out.