A customer asked me if I would carve a birthday present for his wife from wood from a tree near their house that had been cut down.  The tree happened to be a Norway maple and the piece of wood he brought me was from a burl-like area in a fork between two large branches.  The wood is very hard and has an inclusion that required extra work and effort to complete a 2/3rds size red-tailed hawk carving. But the result, as you can see, is dramatic. He and his wife were thrilled.  10” x 5” x 6”