By late August the Rock River runs low and the lawns turn the color of straw wherever a sprinkler cannot reach. Cutting through a dry spell is its own skill — deck raised, pace easy, trimming kept light so nothing gets scalped down to dirt. The rest of the year it is the steady work: mowing, edging along walks and drives, string trimming the corners, and cleanups when spring uncovers a mess and when fall makes a fresh one. September rain brings the green back, and the mower gets to show what it kept alive. Dixon, Amboy, Sublette and Compton.