East of town the ground turns to sand — Illinois Beach State Park runs its dunes and swales along Lake Michigan, and that sandy lake plain reaches back under a good many Zion yards. Grass grown on it drinks fast and dries faster, which is half of what Bernal's Landscaping thinks about every June when the lake breeze comes ashore around noon. Mowing at a height that shades its own roots, trimming tight to the fence line, feeding the thin spots, keeping the beds turned and mulched — small decisions, added up over a season, are what let a lawn hold its color into August. The reward is the walk-out at the end: clippings blown off the drive, the lines running true, the hose coiled. A yard on sandy ground can be green; it just has to be tended like it matters.