This little guy has gotten a lot of smiles. I found a chunk of pine with a stump of a branch that had to be a tail, so out came a raccoon. I usually try to let the wood tell me what to carve rather than force my will on the log: It's more fun that way. You never know exactly what you'll end up with. And you can also get a stronger carving if you work with the lines of grain. But, if you start with a big enough tree, you can carve anything at all, so just ask.