Out at Alamo the land runs to piñon and juniper and the sky takes up most of the view, so the cottonwoods that give a place its shade get counted one by one. Alamo Arborcare Tree Service works this high country, pruning cottonwoods and elms to keep them sound through dry years, cutting juniper and piñon back from rooflines and propane lines, and removing what the drought has already hollowed out. The monsoon comes in the afternoon with everything it has, and a single downburst can shear a limb clean off a shade tree that held its ground through drought after drought. When that happens they clear the wood, cut it to length, and rake the ground back to hardpan. Shade is not decoration out here — it is the coolest square of ground on the property, and worth keeping.