On a still January morning in Ogle County the plume off the towers toward Byron stands straight up in the cold, and you can see it from just about any road around Leaf River. Byron Lawn & Landscape is already moving by then — driveways plowed and pushed back wide, walks shoveled to the concrete, salt down where the north side of a house keeps its ice all day. In the green months the work turns to mowing on a regular schedule, trimming along fence lines and tree rings, edging the drives, with cleanups in spring and again in fall. Between the Rock River and the prairie ground on the ridge, this is country that shows its weather plainly and doesn't hide a neglected yard. Leaving a lawn sharp in July or a lane open in February is the same job, just done at opposite ends of the year.