Mount Taylor is still holding snow when the grass in San Rafael first thinks about waking, and that pairing — white peak, tan yard — is the sign the season has turned. Work starts with whatever winter left behind: dead growth cut back, beds cleared, litter raked out of fence lines and borders. Then comes the first mow of the year, and after it a rhythm — cutting, edging, trimming close around posts and walls, weeds pulled while they are still small. In a village that grew up around a spring, water is never a casual thing, so the grass is cut high enough to shade its own roots through a dry June. What that buys is a yard that looks green on purpose in a valley that does not hand green over.