In a message dated 3/6/00 8:12:22 AM Central Standard Time, gshirley@laol.net writes: << Oh me, don't mind taking them down but they're so close to the house (actually overhanging the roof) that it will have to be done by professionals and that's expensive. Talked to my insuror but their attitude is that they will pay up after the trees fall and crush the house. Looks like it would be cheaper for them to take the trees out >> George, Now that you have talked to the insuror, you have let them know that you know about the problem. Therefore, they can refuse payment if you do wait for them to fall. It is called maintenance. Yep, if you know about a problem that could escalate into a bigger one they can refuse to pay. My parents had a huge tree removed from their back deck (they had built the deck around it). The trunk was over 3.5 ft across. A side branch that hung over the house was about 1.5 ft across. Took two cranes to cut that branch and swing it away from the house. The parents were lucky they decided to pay the money. The center of the branch and trunk were already rotten and cracking on the inside. One good windstorm could have brought the whole thing down. Two cranes were necessary to keep it from swinging into another house. Anne in FL zone 9b, sunset 26 To those who do not know mathematics it is difficult to get across a real feeling as to the beauty, the deepest beauty of nature. If you want to learn about nature, to appreciate nature, it is necessary to understand the language that she speaks in. -Richard Feynman (1918-1988)