A.I.R.

About A.I.R.

First light in Wheaton settles into the Sligo Creek valley as fog, and the lawns on the slopes above it come up silver with dew. A.I.R. likes that hour — grass cuts cleanest while it is cool, and the blades stand back up behind the mower instead of lying down beaten. The work is steady and unshowy: mowing, edging the walks and driveway aprons, trimming the corners no mower can reach, week after week through a Maryland summer that pushes turf hard. These are older streets with tall oaks and shallow, root-laced soil, so no two yards get quite the same pass. By the time the day turns bright and loud, the stripes are laid down and the sidewalk is swept.