Newkirk keeps its limestone courthouse at the center of things, and the wind that finds the square has come down out of Kansas across open ground. Blade Lawn Care works the yards around it, mowing, edging along sidewalks and drives, trimming out fence lines and tree rings, and clearing every clipping off the walks. The Chikaskia runs west of town and Kaw Lake sits east, and between them Kay County grass grows in bursts, heavy after a rain and slow through the dry weeks. A sharp blade matters more than anything else in this work, because a clean cut heals and a torn one browns. That difference is visible from the street two days later, which is reason enough to keep the edge on.