Lawn-mowing season is underway. And if you think you have a big yard, tell that to the six UMSL staff members who work 240-plus hours a week tending to the university’s more than 350 acres of grass and other vegetation.

The photo: Dave Brown, lead groundskeeper at UMSL, mows near the J.C. Penney Building/Conference Center on North Campus on March 27. Brown is captaining a John Deere Z86OA Z-Track Pro with a 72″ deck. The machine can cut grass while cruising at 12 mph, and it has a zero-turn radius, meaning the operator can pivot the mower through 180 degrees without leaving a circle of uncut grass.

“It’ll turn on a dime, and that helps me a lot,” Brown said. “I try to be as meticulous as I can.”

The picture, by campus photographer August Jennewein, is the latest to be featured at Eye on UMSL.