def METHOD_NAME(ax, spine_color='gray'):
    for spine in ['top', 'right']:
        ax.spines[spine].set_visible(False)
    for spine in ['left', 'bottom']:
        ax.spines[spine].set_color(spine_color)
        ax.spines[spine].set_linewidth(0.5)
    ax.xaxis.set_ticks_position('bottom')
    ax.yaxis.set_ticks_position('left')
    for axis in [ax.xaxis, ax.yaxis]:
        axis.set_tick_params(direction='out', color=spine_color)