Ralston Creek pulls a green seam of cottonwoods straight through the middle of Arvada, and by the second week of June every yard on either side of it is growing faster than anyone can keep up with. That is the stretch Smits Lawn Care is built for. Weekly mowing that never lets the grass get ahead, fence lines trimmed out, walks and drives edged to a clean line, clippings gathered so the yard is tidier at the end of the visit than at the start. In air this dry, a lawn cut at the right height keeps its color longer, and that small decision shows up all summer. There is quiet pride in pulling away from a house and seeing the stripes still lying straight in the afternoon light.