Thanks everyone for your help. Ok, I'll leave the yews. They were pruned in that weird shape before we bought the house. You can't tell fom these pics but there is a cherry tree in front yard closer to driveway. We ripped out some old ratty looking shrubs when we moved in and easily 12 inches of much and leaves. I know new shrubs will take a while to grow to size, but the sooner I get them started the better. My winter project is going to be learning a landscape software programs, for now I am making do with graph paper, and all of your help. pls8xx: The extended landing looks good, it helps to see it done this way, and the shrubs near it look nice also. So this will be my next big, project. aegis500: The extra tree is a good idea, and the shrub placed near large picture window is perfect. I think 2 more similar but not necessarily the same shrub would do well on either end of house. karinl: Thanks for the compliment for the work done near the house. I admit I started there because it is something we see everyday. And I liked the shoes & clothes analogy. There must be something to it - I've always enjoyed shopping for shoes more than for clothes. jant: Well, we just replaced all the shutters, so to keep peace at home, they have to stay as is. Door color can be changed. But, WOW, what a difference when the big white vinyl siding matches the house color, and I did like the door color, would have never tried that on my own. Not sure how it could be done, can vinyl be painted? It is the eastern side of the house and the winter sun is strong in this part of the house. I don't get why that siding is there, the rest of the house is aluminum siding and brick. brent in nova: I ran out at bought that magazine, had to go to 3 stores to find it! It was good, they added a lot of box wood for winter season interest. I think I can use a lot of what they showed. busyd95: That is a good way to put it: with no front walk and plantings so close it doesn't feel welcoming. There are no sidewalks along the roadway, so people either use the steps from the driveway or cut through the front yard. I did plant the Nellie Stevens holly to help block that view. I think I'll plant 2 more so there is a grouping of them. Thanks again everyone.

the best 'how to' i ever saw is at the link. practice here.. and then start a new post about your tree ... just remember.. its the HTML code ... and you wont see it.. until you hit PREVIEW MESSAGE ... ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

I like the New Venitian Gold. I too have to keep my outdated oak cabinets. But with the Persian Brown granite I selected, they will look fine. We are in the middle of our remodel. This site has been invaluable. Budget is probably the most important consideration for most. Keep things in perspective. Good luck and post after pictures.

I started off something is changing or about to and then you answered that question later in your post -- the providers are outsourcing the towers. It is a cost saving measure -- not only do they put maintenance in the hands of specialists who can work on any provider's towers, they are moving to combining towers so the hardware cost, the land rents, the need for number of people and locations are all reduced as well. Why can you not do the deals directly? Economics. You have one tower. You are inexperienced and are going to be in over your head. They won't want to deal with you on solo terms, They either have to stop and explain everything or you will be run over. It will take them far more time to deal with you than it is worth to them. It is also likely to cost you more time than it is worth to you. A good attorney in a specialized area would be cheap at $500-600/hr and could be $1000/hr or more (top guy -- who probably has associates and paralegals at a lesser rate doing some of the work and also billing). Every time you talk to them, they talk to the tower lawyer, read documents or do any work, you get billed. You would likely burn up years of the rent you are currently getting and it may outweigh the increases they would be offering for years to come. And that's not only the original deal, but wth any questions or problems down the road. My DH was involved in some licensing deals 7 or 8 years ago and they are still dealing with disputes on those. Not using experienced, specialized lawyers who know what issues to spot and forsee would be against your interests. Stupid in laymans terms. But again, it would cost them more money to deal with you as someone outside the game and they might not even talk to you. They have likely set up a system to have all their contracts the same and want to keep it that way for simplicity and efficiency. My guess is that you would get nowhere. They will wait for you to give up and come to them or find another spot and leave you out of the deal. What I would look at is whether you are willing to have the tower on your property for as many years as they need it? Does it limit your use, interfere with anything? Would it prevent you from leasing or selling the property down the road (a buyer might like the income, but depending on their purpose, the tower could get in the way and nix the deal -- but the income might also lessen the interest you have in selling the property). I get the frustration -- you don't seem to know enough to understand what is happening and what it should be worth to you. You want to make sure you get a fair deal. Your negotiation position is limited. I just entered cell tower lease in google and the first hit is for a group that says it works with property owners, government agencies, etc in negotiating leases (steelintheair - I know nothing about them, so proceed with some caution). I'm sure the will want to sign you up and claim a fee or possibly a percentage of the rents you would recieve. You could start with talking to someone there or a similar group. I would expect a strong sell and some pressure to sign up -- not unlike the personal injury lawyers on TV. But stand your ground and get questions answered first and make sure you understand what the will and won't do for you. Read carefully any contract they offer and consider having another attorney look it over to make sure you don't sign away something without realizing it. Know exactly what it is going to cost you to have them represent you and why it would be a benefit over not using them. Perhaps this group or another had contacted you or your neighbor. Compare notes. Your taller tower is likely worth more, so don't focus on dollars so much as concepts and rights in the deal (how add-ons are treated, whether rents increase over the years or with inflation, etc.). Don't be rushed into signing anything. Make sure you understand everything before you sign. Sleep on it, get away from it and make sure you don't have any forgotten or unrealized questions (you probably will at some point -- the pros get into years of disputes because what they thought was clear isn't so clear years later, but you want to minimize those issues). The values aren't likely to decrease in the short term. There is sometimes a premium for the last folks who sign -- but you risk them finding a way to go around you and having nothing at the end of your current term (maybe sooner if there is an out under the current lease). I've just scratched the surface and this is long. Haven't seen or read anything -- can you see why it could cost a small fortune to try to go it alone? On the other hand, for no real time or effort on your part, you could wind up with a nice stream of income -- but it isn't likely to replace your day job. Enjoy it, don't be run over, but don't get thinking greedy if you want to stay in the game. And that's about all I can tell you -- keep in mind I know nothing about any particulars and my answers are intended to be common sense replies to general questions, not particular legal advise. As my mom always said, it may be worth exactly what you paid for it. But I hope it helps at least a bit.