Late August on the ridges west of Corning smells like warm hay and road dust, and down in the valley the lawns are running short of green and asking for attention. Lee's Landscaping & Outdoor services keeps them going — mowing at the height the month calls for, trimming the ragged corners, edging the walks back to a clean line. Earlier in the year it is spring cleanup and the first cuts; later it is leaves, and the long tidy-up before the ground goes hard. Outdoor work in the Southern Tier is mostly a conversation with whatever the sky decides to do that week. The reward comes at the end: stepping back from a finished yard, mower shut off, everything suddenly quiet and square.