The sounds of silence

Five O'Clock Frank has left the neighborhood. Yep, the large German shepherd with the big bark and skittish temperament no longer lives across the street from us. And we're elated!

Frank, so dubbed by our family because of the German heritage and a tendency to wake the neighbors at dawn, is actually a female dog named Xina that bellows at everything that comes near—kids, construction workers, other dogs, butterflies, leaves, wind .... nary a morning went by when we didn't wake up to Frank's ruckus. Not yipping, yapping, or woofing, but rather deep, boisterous barking. At one point I heard talk of throwing tainted sausages over Frank's fence (though I won't say who was saying such things!), it got that disruptive.

Last weekend, Frank and his family moved away. Each morning (OK, and afternoon and evening) since has been serene. Tranquil. Peaceful. Ah...now that's what I call a Guten Morgen. Auf Wiedersehen, Frank!