This is high, dry country — a mile up, wind most days, sun that means it, and rain that comes in a hurry or not at all. Green is something you tend for on purpose in Fort Lupton, and Santa Cruz Synthetic Turf and Landscaping tends for it: mowing on a steady rhythm, trimming around posts and play sets, holding a clean edge at the sidewalk line, keeping yards in order through the long bright middle of the year. The town's blocks are generous — deep back lots, alleys, room for a garden and a dog and a strip of shade — and the difference a cut lawn makes to a place like that shows up right away. Evening is the reward, when the heat finally lets go, sprinklers tick on down the street, and the whole block smells like watered grass. Then the nighthawks come out over the rooftops and the day is finished.