North Tonawanda is where the Erie Canal finally lets out into the Niagara River, and in May the whole waterfront smells of cold water and new leaves. Ashton Services keeps lawns going across the city — mowing on a steady cycle, trimming and edging, seasonal cleanups front yard and back. City lots here sit close together, hemmed by fences and old sidewalk slabs, which makes a clean edge along the concrete the difference between mowed and finished. Down near Gratwick Riverside Park the wind comes straight up the river, so clippings get blown back into the turf instead of out into the street. A block where every lawn is cut has a settled look to it, and holding that look is the job.