In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 31 Dec 2016 14:53:14 -0800, mike
wrote:

I asked my neighbor to prune the trees that overhang my house.
Was told to go pound sand.
So, the offending branch is about 20 feet up.
I don't have a ladder tall enough to get at it
safely with a chain saw.
I'd rather not try to chop it off at the trunk for fear it

Not only that, unless the trunk is at the border of your yard, you'll be
trespassing.

will land on my TV antenna and bust it.

I tried throwing a rope over it last summer to see if I could break it.
I think I can pull at an angle so it falls between the houses.
Didn't break.

Why not get a chain saw? Not a chainsaw but a chain saw. It's a piece
of flexible chain (as all chaln is!) with teeth for cutting branches,
with a rope on either end. You through one rope over the branch and
then pull alternately on the two ropes and it saws.

It's gonna be 18F here tomorrow. That's about as cold as it ever gets.

What's the dynamic if I pull down on it when it's cold outside?
Likely to break easier? It's about 2" diameter where I'd like it
to break.

What if it breaks inside his property line?

No, I don't know what kind of tree it is. Some version of
maple, maybe...no leaves on it now. It's not in particularly
good health. Lots of decay.

Is there anything interesting I can do without hurting myself?

See above.