Okay, I try not to post wet, relatively fresh ones but here is a healthy birch specimen that has a pretty good cradle. Finding a staff with a "cradle" to hold a sphere or an artifact is a little rare for me. I would guess it occurs once with every 20 or 30 staffs that I harvest. This one holds a 4" dog ball (about 100mm) pretty well, ball and dog not included. This staff is thick, it stands 69-1/2" tall and the shaft varies in diameter from 1-1/2" to 2-1/4". The bark has been stripped with a drawknife so there are subtle facets and cambium left behind. It can be worked, sanded and even stained but you won't want to coat it with a film-forming finish until it dries awhile. You don't want to trap the moisture in. Currently it weighs 5#6ozs but it'll lose a lot more moisture weight. As it dries don't be surprised if it develops drying splits along its length, they are inevitable when the pith is in the center. This is a fresh, raw material for you to customize. (ufws314)