On the Woodford County prairie the horizon is a ruled line, broken only by a grain elevator and a windbreak of yard trees planted a lifetime ago. Minonk lawns grow fast in that black soil — a warm week of June rain and everything is knee-high by Friday. Gerdes Landscaping LLC works down the village blocks with mower, trimmer and blower, leaving edges crisp along sidewalk and drive and not a clipping loose in the street. There's a satisfaction in stepping back at the end of a block and seeing the whole row of it run true. Come October the work turns to leaves, gathered and hauled before the first hard prairie wind scatters them again.