Eastern Red Cedar

One of several eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) trees that we felled when building our house. We saved all the trees to be used in the house. We felled this tree almost a year ago, it has been laying  a brush pile since; yet no signs of insect or water damage - gotta love cedar!

This evergreen tree typically grows from 16 to 66 feet tall with a trunk typically 12 - 39 inches in diameter. It's commonly used for fence posts (for it's rot resistant properties), cedar closets, and cedar chests (for it's insect and moth repellent properties). 

Notice the white sapwood and reddish/purplish heartwood.

Dragonfly

Thieves Vinegar

So you want to be immune to disease, you want to remove and prevent mold and mildew, you want to repel insects, or any of the other wonderful things thieves vinegar is touted to be able to perform, now you can.

According to Scientific American in1910, thieves vinegar is a medicated vinegar invented by four thieves of Marseilles who successfully employed it as a prophylactic during a visitation of pestilence. In other words, this stuff supposedly protected four thieves from the plague while they robbed the homes of the dead. There are many other stories out there about the origin of thieves vinegar and evidence that it existed prior to the bubonic plague and the supposed four thieves. While the origin remains to be proven and the mixture varies with the individual making it and the plants available, Scientific American lists the recipe as:

• 4 oz.     Rosemary tops, dried
• 4 oz.     Sage lowers, dried
• 2 oz.     Lavendar flowers, dried
• 1.5 oz.  Rue, fresh
• 1 oz.     Camphor, dissolved in spirits
• 1/4 oz.  Garlic, sliced
• *1 drm.Cloves, bruised
• **1 gal.Distilled wine vinegar, strongest

Digest for 7 or 8 days, with occasional agitation, pour off the liquor, press out the remainder, and filter the mixed liquids.

* - Note that a dram (drm) is 1/16^th oz.

** - Many recipes I have seen call for Apple Cider vinegar (the good stuff, with "the mother") - I recommend using Apple Cider vinegar with "the mother."

Other recipes I have seen call for:

• 2 TBSP Thyme, dried)
• 2 TBSP Rosemary, dried
• 2 TBSP Sage, dried
• 2 TBSP Lavender, dried
• 1 TBSP Mint, dried
• 4-8 cloves of minced garlic (optional)
• One 32-ounce bottle of organic Apple Cider Vinegar with “the Mother”

Place the dried herbs and garlic in a large glass jar. Pour the vinegar over the herbs and garlic. Seal the jar tightly. Leave in a cool, dark place (I've also heard leaving the vinegar in warm location, or a location that gets morning or evening sun for warmth but is still shady) for six to eight weeks. Shake daily. After six to eight weeks, strain the mixture - the vinegar is now ready to use.

Personally, I like my thieves vinegar to sit for longer periods; like pickled foods, sometimes a longer soak yields a tastier product.

Snail