Perhaps I am not the only one who is a unclear about your request. Are you asking for pictures of cedar shakes/shingles, lumber, arrows, etcetera? If so, I do not think they are likely to be so visually distinctive from other wood, such as redwood, that they will be of much help for identification.

If you are asking for tree pictures, then I suspect any field guide or online guide will do the job. I suspect there is Western Red Cedar on or very near your property, because there is a lot of it in the Sierras. The foliage in particular is distinctive and reminiscent of redwood.

I find the combined look, smell, and feel of cedar are the easiest identifier. It is a relatively light and coarse-grained usually reddish wood with a distincvtive aroma when cut or bruised. I would check some out at a home supply or lumber store to get the experience of look, feel, and smell.

I was just interested in seeing pictures of in the wild and or processed

Cedar tends to be toxic, esp the oils that deter insects and prevent rot. Although there are some recipes for cedar tea for a few medicinal purposes, it can cause allergic reactions, spontaneous abortion in pregnant women, seriously low blood pressure and convulsions.

You wouldn't want to make a rain barrel out of it, either.

Another problem with cedar is that there are some lookalikes. True cedar is different from Incense Cedar (Calocedrus, not a true cedar), Arborvitae (Thuja), and the White Cedar (aka False Cypress) which is really Chamaecyparis. I'm surrounded by this stuff and still can't tell the difference. And we have a lot of Cypress, too. I guess I should go to the arboretum and learn.

Sue

In the Southwest, "cedar" is used colloquially to describe what is actually juniper (Juniperus sp.). The properties of the two woods are fairly similar.

Native American cedar crafts:

http://reviews.ebay.com/Native-Baskets-Cedar-ROOT-or-Cedar-BARK_W0QQugidZ10000000002149416

When I think of cedar I think Western Red Cedar or properly Thuja Plicata, which as Susan points out is not a true cedar. So to which specific cedar do you refer?

USDA on western red cedar:

http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_thpl.pdf

I am planning to build a garden building, and thought about putting a Cedar shingle roof on it... just for the experience of doing it {and I think Cedar roofs look nice too}.

I also wanted to collect rain water from the roof, for garden irrigation, etc... is that a bad idea?
In other words, would that collected water be toxic or harmful to the garden soil and veggies?

Not likely. First, a lot of the volatile toxic elements off-gas from the cedar when it is split, and the only real risk of concentrated exposure afterwards would be thermal decomposition of the material (burning it) or use of a penetrating solvent. Most of the water soluble toxic components will get rinsed away at the first rain, and decompose in the soil fairly rapidly.

Continued exposure to fresh cedar might cause some problems. However, it's worth noting that cedar shavings are often used for bedding for rabbits, guinea pigs, and such. As one who has raised guinea pigs in the past, I can tell you they are quite susceptible to toxic environments, and cedar never bothered any of my critters, so I doubt exposure to the wood itself is much of a concern. However, I would strongly caution against exposure to smoke from burning cedar.

It seems that handling green cedar especially the fronds, provides for the most acute type of exposure.

Pet owners are generally advised to avoid cedar shavings for their pets these days, due to respiratory problems.

If you are splitting your own cedar roof shingles, at least you know what is in them. The tannin in the wood may color your collected water and affect the taste. It probably wouldn't be strong enough to affect soil or vegetable garden plants, and might even be broken down by soil microbes.

If you buy commercial shingles, they are often treated with CCA (Chromated copper arsenate).

I think fibrous cedar-type barks can be used to wrap live coals for carrying fire bundles, to get back to the original intent of the thread.

Sue