Out in the Blanco Basin the irrigation ditches shut down in October, and that is the signal — the green work ends and the white work begins. Landworks Contracting handles both around Pagosa Springs: mowing, trimming and cleanup while the ground is soft, plowing and shoveling once it stops being soft. Sagebrush mesas hold the cold, and a north-facing drive can stay locked in ice long after the sun has found everything else in the valley. Knowing which ground thaws and which does not is most of the craft out here. The result reads the same in either season — a property you can cross without giving it a thought.