September along the creek bottoms north of Denver is the sweet part of the year: cottonwoods going yellow at the tips, shadows stretching out by five, the heat finally letting go of the afternoon. Great Dane Lawncare LLC spends it doing what it does the rest of the season too — mowing Sherrelwood lawns, trimming tight to fences and foundations, running a clean edge along the concrete. The grass grows slower now, but it grows, and the schedule doesn't wander. Then come the cleanups, leaves gathered off the turf before the first hard freeze pins them down. A yard put to bed properly in October is a yard that comes back easy in April.