March here is mud and meltwater: the Little Colorado starts up small and cold at the head of the valley, and every yard in town spends a few weeks somewhere between brown and possible. Round Valley Animal Rescue works that shoulder season — raking out the winter mat, clearing the gravel the plows threw up, cutting back what died so new growth has room. Once the ground firms, mowing begins on schedule and the edges get squared at the sidewalk again. Fertilizer and weed control go down while the soil is still holding moisture, the one stretch of the year that comes easy. By May the lawn is deep green and looks as though winter never happened, which is precisely the trick.