Idaho Springs mornings begin twice: once when the sky lightens, and again an hour later when the sun finally clears the canyon rim and lands on the yards along Chicago Creek. Elevated Environments Landscaping works that second sunrise, mowing and trimming terraced lots that climb the hillside in short, stubborn steps. Cutting, edging, string trimming, fertilizing, aeration and cleanups at both ends of the year — all of it on ground that tilts, at an elevation where the growing season is counted in weeks rather than months. Short seasons make people appreciate green, and there is something worth doing in coaxing it out of decomposed granite and old mine-town soil. The satisfaction is a trimmed edge holding a straight line across a slope that has no straight lines in it.