On October mornings the balloons come up out of the valley and drift over Rio Rancho while the mesa is still gray. Go Landscape ABQ is already working underneath them — fall mowing, leaves cleared off before the wind takes them somewhere worse, borders cut back clean for the cold months. Yards up here take a beating from sun and sand all summer, and autumn is when they get set right again. The schedule keeps through the season rather than stopping at the first cool week. Come the spring green-up, that difference shows.