Bernie,
Great piece.. I like working with maple... maybe 'cause I had a 3' diameter tree fall in my back yard a few years back and I still have a ton or two of wood to work up... Mine is dry and spalting and sometimes I get pieces that are almost beyond their useful life, but has some incredible spalting marks.
I find the bowls and peppermills and such to be as much if not more relaxing as doing pens.. 'course if I can run my lathe, I'm happy.