The Severed Cortex

I was gone all weekend and was surprised to come back Sunday afternoon and find my neighbor had not mowed his grass. Nancy informed me that on Saturday he was working on his deck. I did notice a stack of lumber on his patio that had been painted the same color as his deck (it's red BTW ... not cypress red or anything like that, but real red).
However, late Sunday evening he was out there (sans shirt) cutting the grass. Still no word on what the deck work he's doing is for.