June rain on this county's soil does something close to alchemy — two warm days after a storm and every lawn in Sycamore has put on an inch. Stran's Garden Center & Landscaping keeps pace with it: mowing on a set week, trimming around posts and beds, edging the walks so the green stops in a straight line. Autumn brings the other half of the work, leaves hauled off before they pack down and smother the grass beneath. A tended yard is a small, ordinary thing that makes an entire block feel looked after. Sycamore has plenty of blocks like that, and they stay that way one visit at a time.