West of Montrose the adobe hills run bare and gray all the way to the horizon, and nothing out there grows that didn't earn it — a useful thing to keep in mind while tending grass in the Uncompahgre Valley. Sustain-ability Services LLC. mows on a schedule the weather sets, leaves the clippings to give back what they took, and aerates the packed valley clay so water sinks in instead of running off toward the ditch. Overseeding thickens the stand, fertilizing is timed rather than constant, and trimming and edging keep a clear boundary between what is lawn and what is not. The autumn cleanup clears the leaves before the first snow pins them flat. A green yard in dry country is a small act of stewardship, and it looks like one.