Avery County keeps its open ground in two kinds — pasture that has to be kept down, and fir rows that have to be kept clear. K.C. Lawn & Farm works both sides of that, mowing house lawns and trimming close around porches and posts, then taking the rough-cut mower to overgrown lots, hayfield edges and farm tracks where a walk-behind would quit. Autumn reaches Elk Park in the first week of October and it comes all at once, so leaf clearing here is a sprint rather than a season. What holds the whole thing together is knowing which ground wants a fine cut and which ground just wants opening back up.