Every green lawn in the Animas Valley is really snow that fell on the San Juans in February and took its time coming down. San Juan Water Works tends lawns around Durango through the hot bright middle of the year — mowing, string trimming, crisp borders along drives and walks, and the cleanups in spring and fall that reset a whole yard. July mornings here are cool enough for a jacket and by two the sun is honest; grass grows in that swing and wants attention on a rhythm. The satisfaction is small and repeatable: a lawn that reads well from the street, its edge cut like a line drawn with a straightedge. In a high-desert town, that green is a kind of accomplishment.