Late May in Alta Sita, and the block has gone quiet except for one mower working its way up a long side yard. 3 Brothers Lawn Care Service, LLC keeps East St. Louis grass cut low and even, week after week, through the long green middle of the year. The pleasure is in the last pass — the line laid straight to the fence, the trimmer run around the porch posts, the clippings blown off the walk before the truck pulls away. On this flat ground east of the river the grass grows fast and forgiving, and keeping pace with it takes a steady hand and an early start. They mow, trim and edge across East St. Louis and the towns beside it, and leave every yard sharper than they found it.