In 1997 my grandfather gave Mum and Dad a silver birch sapling to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. 25 years later the tree sadly had to be cut down. Mum kept a piece, hoping that it might be possible to turn a bowl as a keepsake. The wood was not seasoned well, and had quite a few shakes (drying cracks) so I got a move on while it was still usable. I tried two different styles so Mum could take her pick. The spalting has given one of the bowls a bit of character, but it's not really a wood I would turn again, unless maybe to do a bowl with a natural bark edge.