On winter evenings the sky above the Helderbergs burns red behind the escarpment, and the temperature drops the moment that color drains away. Outdoor work in Albany follows the light: mowing, trimming, edging and cleanups while the days run long, then plowing, shoveling and salting once they've gone short. The escarpment throws squalls down onto the western neighborhoods with very little warning, which turns a plow route into a moving target. Grass season is gentler and just as exacting — a level cut, a defined edge, not a clipping left on the walk. Same properties, opposite tools, one standard for how a place should look when the tailgate closes.