Vernon's older streets are lined with deep porches and front lawns that run right down to the sidewalk, the kind of yards people actually sit and look at. Nick's property maintenance keeps those lawns mowed and their edges cut straight, trimming close along fence posts, porch skirts and the maples that have been there longer than the fences. On a warm evening, when the mowing is done and the clippings are swept off the walk, a street like that looks composed. Cleanups in spring open the beds back up; cleanups in fall clear the leaf drift before the first hard freeze. Good grass is mostly patience, repeated on schedule.