My neighbor mows his lawn every Sunday at 7 a.m. Short of slashing the tires on his beloved John Deere, what can I do to shush him?

THE FIRST STEP: Talk with him. You may be furious (or still groggy), but try to be respectful and polite. Assume he is not being a jerk but is simply oblivious. Say, "Would you mind putting this off for a few hours? We'd love to get a bit more sleep."

THE NEXT STEP: If you meet with resistance, educate yourself, and then your neighbor, about local noise ordinances. Most of these laws designate certain quiet hours — for example, 10 p.m. to 8 or 9 a.m. on weekends. To find out about your town's ordinances, call the office of your city attorney, mayor, or city manager, use an on-line search engine and type in your town's name and "noise ordinance"; or go to the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse (www.nonoise.org), which lists noise ordinances for many cities.

THE LAST RESORT:

Consider mediation, especially if you and your neighbor have problems that go beyond early-morning mowing.

Call the police. Ask other neighbors (at a reasonable hour) if they are bothered, too, and see if they'll make an official complaint the next time it occurs, since the police often won't act on noise complaints until more than one person calls. Try to call the cops while the noise is occurring, so they can come hear it themselves.