Villa Grove lies flat on the prairie with the Embarras River curling east of town and the railroad running straight through the middle of it. Oak Ridge Lawn & Landscape keeps the lawns along those streets on a steady cut: grass down, trimmer run, walks edged, and the yard cleared when a season's worth has piled up. Out here the wind moves without anything to slow it, so the turf dries fast and the mowing window opens early. There is real pleasure in the pattern — lines running out to the sidewalk, the trim cut close around the mailbox post and the porch steps, the drive left clean. In October the work turns to leaves, raked and hauled while the elevator runs full and the fields go to stubble.