I thought I'd awoken to the comforting sounds of an approaching storm. Dimly recalling that this wasn't in the weather forecast, but feeling good about the prospect of an oncoming rain event watering the gardens. We just happen to love the sound of thunder.  I've been lax about that; due diligence to ensure the gardens and our pots of flowers don't dry out; keeping them well moistened prolongs their life with night-time temperatures dipping perilously close to freezing. And since we've been enjoying fabulous late-summer weather in early autumn this past week, with full blue skies, a baking sun and summertime temperatures, we could use some rain.

Cracking my left eye open to peruse the sky from our bedroom window, there was blue sky and sun. And then my husband reminded me that our next-door neighbour had given us a 'heads-up' a week or so back that he was having some pretty noisy work done on his house. We'd noted that he was emptying his garage, putting some things out for trash pick-up, hoping that some discerning eye would decide that the chest of drawers placed at the curb was worth their while hauling away. We still cannot figure out why people who discard items that would be of value to others don't take them to our very local thrifts shops or even call them because they will themselves pick up such saleable items.

In any event, we could also see that they had filled their large deck with items taken out of the garage, to completely empty it. The floorspace, in any event. Reason was, they had arranged to have the cement floor of their garage torn up and replaced. We live in what's called a "rust belt" area which means in our northern climate winters so ferociously inclement that road salt is commonly put down for vehicles to gain traction on icy roads during ice storms and other adverse driving conditions. Which naturally results in a deterioration of concrete and steel, affecting not only bridges and road surfaces, but the surfaces of garages as well when vehicles are driven into them.

Most people know that the resulting cracks are surface blemishes and that remedial work can be readily accomplished by the homeowner. Our neighbours are far more ambitious; they're tearing up the entire surface to replace it, and then having some additional driveway work done, tearing up the surface for brick replacement. It's just their style. Some might consider it a manifestation of having more money than brains. But, to each their own.

The jackhammers being used in the garage next door, don't really sound like thunder. They're noisy and intrusive, but thunder? Nope.