August in the Quaboag valley can bake a lawn to straw by noon, which is why the good hours are the early ones, dew still down and the air not yet heavy. Royce Lawn Maintenance runs its Palmer routes then — mowing high through the dry stretch, trimming close around obstacles, edging walks, keeping beds clear so what water there is goes where it should. The bookends get the same attention: spring cleanup to open the turf back up, fall cleanup to lift the leaves before they mat. Turf that comes through a hot August still standing is turf somebody paid attention to. Lawn care in Palmer and the surrounding towns.