The hills that shoulder Palmer are old rock — ledge showing through the pasture, boulders the ice set down and never came back for. Gneiss Valley Lawns tends the lawns that sit on top of all that stone, the ones that thaw late in April and then run green all at once. Mowing on slope and terrace, trimming close around outcrop and wall, edging the drives, mulching the beds, cleanups at both ends of the season. Thin soil over hard bedrock asks for a lighter hand and a sharper blade, and both go into every visit. From Palmer Town out through Monson, Brimfield and Wales, they cut the ground the way the ground is built.