June mornings at Steuben start cool and end warm, mist lying in the low ground until the sun clears the treeline. Grass grows hard in that stretch — an inch between visits — so the mowing keeps a firm weekly rhythm, passes alternated so the turf stands up instead of laying over, turns kept off the soft spots. Trimming follows the fence posts, the mailbox, the corner of the shed, and the edge along the drive is cut back so gravel and lawn each keep to themselves. Later in the year the leaves come off in a couple of rounds as the timber lets go. It is unglamorous work, and a straight line seen from the road is the receipt for it.