Chekhov's gun: "If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don't put it there.'"
Simple formulation of a complex subject - the gentle art of foreshadowing, or nudging the reader in the direction you want the story to go - without blatantly stating it outright.
How to do it surely depends on both genre and cultural reference - a baseball bat in the US might indicate a playfull time with the kids - or a big fight with things spinning out of control - or a scary time with a(n imagined) burglar.
...and on that last note I hope the last period of silence due to too much sun and outdoor life will be redeemed, at least for a while ;)
