Have you talked to your neighbor about what you've noticed? I've seen something similar in a community garden plot that went all native. It was buzzing at first but then got quiet, like all the early bloomers finished and nothing else took over. My own messy yard with a mix of stuff always has something going on. Maybe some gardens need a bit of variety to keep things going through all the seasons.

Wow, I always figured they stood in one spot more.

I used to just wait for the power to come back on, but my wife got me a big battery pack for my birthday. It kept the router and my tablet going for eight hours during a storm last year. I finished a whole season of For All Mankind without a single flicker.