Rend Lake lies just west of Ewing, wide and grey-blue, and the breeze off it carries all the way into these Franklin County yards. Veterans Lawncare Services mows through a southern-Illinois summer that starts early and gives up late — the grass here keeps growing well after the north half of the state has quit. Trimming around the oaks and hickories, edging the drives and walks, hauling clippings so nothing mats down in the heat: it adds up to a yard that plainly looks after. Spring and fall bring their own rounds, sticks and leaves and whatever the winter left behind. Coming back down the road at dusk past a lawn cut in even stripes is a decent way to end a day.