[dww2]

Welcome aboard, echrisco. I'd cut the small branch. As for the bark, I'd sand it down to the underbark to see if it looked nice. If it didn't, I'd shave it down to bare wood. Either way, that's a very nice twistie you have.

Is it just my imagination or is there a pretty good sized basswood tree there in your yard?

 

[dww2]

I suppose it could be but what I was getting at is that there appears to be tons of basswood seeds on the ground.

 

[dww2]

Oh, ok. Not familiar with that type.