Late August in McHenry has a thick green stillness to it, right before the light starts leaving a little earlier each night. Lawn Werks is out in it — mowing on schedule, trimming what the deck cannot reach, edging until the boundary between grass and concrete is a drawn line. The season opens with a cleanup that pulls the winter out of the beds and closes with leaves cleared off the turf before the cold locks them down. Grass grows whether anyone is watching, and keeping ahead of it week after week is the whole craft. Lawn routes cover McHenry, Prairie Grove, Cary and Crystal Lake.