In the Estancia Valley nothing hides. The horizon runs from the Manzanos east until it simply stops, and one tall tree beside a Moriarty farmhouse is a landmark from a mile off along old Route 66. Trees out here were planted deliberately and defended ever since, so pruning is a matter of structure — one good leader, clean unions, deadwood gone before the wind hunts for it. Trimming keeps the windbreak rows thick down low, where they actually do their job. Removal comes when a tree gives out, and after hail or a hard blow, cleanup hauls the broken wood off and gives the yard back its wide, ordinary sky.