The old canal line runs east through Marcy, and on still mornings the water holds the sky flat until the first breeze crosses it. GMW Lawncare is out around then, dew still down, mowing yards from the river road to the neighborhoods near the town line. Trimming, edging, blowing the walks and drives clean — small steps that separate a lawn that is cut from a lawn that is finished. Cottonwood fluff in June, leaves in October, and a steady rhythm of weeks in between. A lawn kept on schedule never looks like it needed rescuing.