The north edge of Elmira climbs, and the yards up there are cut into the slope in terraces and short steep runs. Ervay Earthworks mows that kind of ground — the awkward pitch, the narrow strip beside a retaining wall — trimming and edging until the shape of the property shows again. August bakes the hilltops while the low yards stay green, and the work adjusts to whichever one it's standing on. Coming down off a finished slope in late sun is its own small pleasure. Steep or level, the lawn gets the same attention.