This was my first thought too, but it doesn't pass the scrutiny test. In case you weren't aware, the pull rope on the neighboring garage was untied and straightened out, so that it no longer resembled a noose. If said perpetrator was trying to "send Bubba a message", why straighten out the next-door garage rope pull? To me, that sounds more like somebody didn't want somebody else to make the connection that is where the "noose" came from.