Midsummer in Watervliet, the old maples along the side streets throw enough shade to keep a lawn tender while the open middle of the yard burns bright green. J's Mowing works both halves of that yard — cutting high enough to hold moisture, trimming tight along chain-link and hydrant posts and the little strip between sidewalk and curb. It is small-lot work, done quickly and done neatly, the mower off and loaded before the noon heat really settles in. The smell afterward is the best thing about a July block: cut grass, warm asphalt, a screen door swinging shut two houses down. A yard that takes ten minutes to look right is still a yard somebody has to show up for, every week, all season long.