Newfield ground is shale and heavy clay, and in April it holds water long enough to make you wait a week for the first cut. Pro Lawn Landscaping & Excavating mows those hillside properties south and west of Ithaca once the ground gives — trimming steep banks, edging along gravel drives, clearing out whatever winter left behind in the grass. A lawn on a slope is cut across, slowly, with an eye on where the mower's weight is going, and it looks all the better for that care. The season builds through June, eases off in the heat, then comes back green in September when the rains return. Fall cleanup closes it out, every yard raked down to bare grass.