July in Shepherd is shade over the village streets, sprinklers ticking at dusk, and somebody's mower carrying three blocks in the still air. Dr.Green Thumb is often the one making that sound — mowing on schedule, trimming the fence lines and posts, edging the sidewalks back to a clean line. The seasonal cleanups fill in on both ends, spring and fall, so a lawn never has to start its year buried. Around here the yards sit close enough to compare, and there is a friendly kind of pride in the one that always looks freshly cut. It is a small thing that makes a whole block look cared for.