amazing contribution.

 one of the species of trees here is called Octolignum and it naturally grows like this - very rare and very difficult to distinguish from a standard lodgepole pine until it's felled and cut up, when at such a time it naturally springs into this formation. very lucky that we were able to stumble upon this treasure as it's so rare - probably one in ten thousand for these trees. some of the trees can react explosively to the introduction of a flame and will release a large volume of chloroform into the air if lit. luckily for me this was not the case....