In late September the aspen on Shock Hill turn all at once, and every stand in Breckenridge shows exactly how it has been looked after. Alpine Arbor Inc. works in tree and shrub pruning, deadwood and hazard tree removal, planting, and seasonal lawn and yard maintenance around town. Aspen at this elevation grow as linked clones, so a cut in one tree is felt through the whole grove, which is reason enough to read a stand before the saw comes out. Mowing and cleanups fill the short green stretch between snowmelt and the first hard frost. What is left behind is a grove opened to the light, clean-limbed, gold against the dark lodgepole behind it.