Wilcox Township is sand country: jack pine and oak scrub, two-tracks that go soft in August, and the national forest edging closer the farther north you drive. Grass has to earn a living in soil like that, so Watermill Outdoor Services mows it high enough to hold its color and works on a rhythm that suits a dry September rather than a page on a calendar. Borders are kept sharp where lawn meets gravel, the trimmer goes around every post and stump, and the drive is cleared before the truck pulls out. When the oaks finally let go in November the leaves are hauled off, so the yard is not left under a blanket of them. Straightforward work, for houses scattered between White Cloud and Hesperia.