Late afternoon in Rocky Ford belongs to the cottonwoods, which throw long shade across the ditch banks and cool the yards on either side. That is our favorite hour for the last pass of the day — mowing, trimming and edging until the grass lies in clean bands and the line along the walk is straight enough to follow with your eye. Summer in this stretch of southeastern Colorado is hot and bright and hard on turf, so we keep a steady rhythm, coming back before a lawn has a chance to get ahead of us. When the valley goes gold we gather leaves and put the beds down for the cold. It is ordinary work, done with attention, and it shows from the street.