In the French Revolutionary Calendar, today is Genièvre, Day of Juniper. 10 facts about juniper:
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus Juniperus, part of the Cypress family Cupressaceae.
It’s an evergreen conifer which can reach a height of 10m and live for up to 200 years.
Its bark is grey-brown and peels with age; its twigs are reddish brown. The female seed cones resemble berries. In some species they are red-brown or orange, but most of them are Blue.
Common juniper has the largest geographic range of any woody plant in the world. Junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south as tropical Africa, including the Arctic, parts of Asia, and Central America.
They form one of the highest tree lines on Earth. The highest-known juniper forest occurs at an altitude of 4,900 metres (16,100 ft) in southeastern Tibet.
The wood was used for the construction of hunting bows among some Native American cultures. Today, juniper wood is used to make cabinets, fence posts, and Pencils.
Ancient Mesopotamians believed juniper oil would ward off the evil eye. In Britain it was used in a similar way – hung over doorways on May Day Eve and burned at Halloween. Dreaming of gathering juniper berries in winter meant you would be prosperous.
Juniper has also been used for medicinal purposes. Some Native Americans used it to treat diabetes, and believed eating the ashes after it was burned was a source of Calcium.
Juniper berry sauce is a popular flavouring for quail, pheasant, veal, rabbit, venison, and other game dishes, although perhaps its best known culinary use is Gin making. In fact, the word gin derives from the Dutch word for juniper: jenever.
In Scotland and Gaelic cultures, burning of juniper was part of a ritual to cleanse and protect a home and the people living there. New year (Hogmanay) is one of the times such rituals are performed.
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Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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