In Mineral Bluff the Toccoa River runs cold and green past the old rail line, and October comes down the mountain a week ahead of the valley floor. Yards up here are carved out of slope — a bench of grass above a creek, a strip along a gravel drive, laurel crowding in from both sides. Keeping them takes a mower that will hold a hillside and a willingness to hand-trim what no machine can reach. The reward is a mountain yard that looks intentional: mowed lines following the contour, the edge along the drive true, leaves cleared before the first hard frost sets them down for good. Fannin County scenery does most of the work; the rest gets done a Saturday at a time.