The Grand Mesa keeps its own weather up there among the lakes, and in late September its aspen belt turns gold in a band visible from any yard in Delta. Grand Mesa Landscaping and Excavation spends that season on the lawns down in the valley, mowing and trimming toward the year's last cut. Grass at this elevation grows in bursts — hard in June, slower in the heat, then one more green push once the nights cool off. Reading those bursts is most of the job, along with the plain pleasure of a straight edge along a driveway. By the time the gold goes off the mesa, the yards below are cut low, tidied up and put away for winter.