Battle Creek wakes slowly in May, mist lifting off the Kalamazoo while the maples on the old west-side streets fill in overhead. ODD JOB SERVICES works the lawn-care side of that morning: the mow, the trim along fence lines and foundations, the edge cut clean where turf meets walk. There is a particular pleasure in the last pass, when the stripes finally line up, the clippings come off the drive, and the yard simply looks looked-after. Over at Leila Arboretum the beds run to formal order, and on an ordinary Battle Creek lot the same order is possible, one week at a time. Odd jobs are what a house actually needs — small, specific, finished.