Hey, sorry, I seemed to not answer one of your questions.
I always use a clear finish so as to let the beauty of the wood speak for itself!

Thank you for the comments.
I am in the prosess of clearing out some smaller trees and they work perfect for what I need at the moment, trying to do a little clearing so that the older trees can continue to bloom and the deer really love having the space as cedar trees grow very low branches and they just dont care for it, brings them right on to the property, beautiful to watch year round!