I know this isn't nearly as fancy as most other project on this site - you folks are awesome - but it was fun playing with the chainsaw today. Some soil tomorrow and then some plants!
Around here, they used to make horse troughs out of cottonwood trunks this way. They're so gnarled and crooked they're not good for much else except firewood. You find them now all weathered and gray at "architectural antique" places.
We'e got a lot of cottonwood around here. Looks to be a pretty soft wood. I can't imagine its good for much - execpt for horse troughs; and maybe toy airplanes….