October in the Grand Valley turns the cottonwoods the color of a struck match, and then one night of wind puts all of it on the ground. J & B Outdoor Maintenance and Landscaping spends those weeks raking, mowing the leaves down, carting the piles off and giving the turf one last even cut before it goes quiet. Fall cleanup is unglamorous work and it decides how the grass comes out the following spring. There is a particular satisfaction in the final pass of the year, with beds cleared, lawn level and the driveway tidy before the cold sets in. Clifton in November looks best when it looks tended.