Before the sun clears the mountains, Belen is quiet enough to hear a sprinkler running somewhere down the block. West of town Ladron Peak sits dark against a sky already going pale, and the first mow of the day is already loaded. Working early in this valley makes sense — grass cuts cleaner when it is cool, and yards get finished before the afternoon turns hard. Mowing, edging along drives and walkways, trimming what the mower cannot reach, hauling the clippings off: that is the whole of it. By the time the town is fully awake, a yard can already look like somebody spent all day on it.