My current home is in West central MN lake country about 80 miles due east of Fargo ND on 5 acres of lake shore surrounded by mostly public forest land. The most prevalent trees are red & white oak, black ash, birch, basswood, poplar and eastern white pine. The red oak I have harvested on or near my property make excellent natural edge pieces if harvested live in the dormant stage and turned thin & green. This crotch bowl is my favorite that came from a tree that was too close to my driveway, note the annual rings are so close together you would need a magnifying lens and a sharp pointer to count them.
View attachment 51556
View attachment 51557View attachment 51558 Most of my shore line is a high bluff on the southeastern shore with ice berms that undermine the roots of the trees that grow in the berm and this is a small black ash that leafed out then died when the water was low. When I cut it down the simplest way was to drop it in the lake, cut it into 100" lengths and tow over to my dock area, where I could winch it out with my ATV.
View attachment 51559 This is a white oak burl that I bought from a local logger Note the trailer bed it is sitting on is 5 feet wide.