Ray Lawns

About Ray Lawns

October colors White Oak Mountain from the top down, and the light over Ooltewah goes thin and yellow by four in the afternoon. Ray Lawns is on the leaves by then — taking them off the yards, cutting back beds, and bringing lawns down to a length that will hold through the cold. From March into September the routine is mowing and trimming, edging along the concrete, and keeping growth off the fence lines where it likes to hide. When a winter storm comes over the ridge and glazes the valley, the work turns to plowing drives, opening walkways and treating what stays frozen in the shade. The pleasure of it is the before-and-after — one pass, and a place looks looked-after again.