North Branch Township is open country — cropland running flat to the horizon, section roads laid out square, the sky doing most of the talking. In July the heat stands still above the fields, and a lawn out here takes full sun from first light until it quits. Cut away lawn services mows on that reality, keeping the height up so roots stay shaded, trimming tight around posts, tanks and mailbox stands, and cutting the gravel drive's edge back to a true line. Yards run large out here, so the passes are long and the finish still has to be even from one end to the other. When the last strip closes and the clippings come off the walk, the whole place looks squared away.