Strategies for Starting a Raw Diet ..and Eating Raw Simply

I just got this great parcel in the mail today from my Mom. She sent me Juliano's Raw - the UNcook Book, which I have been wanting to get a copy of. I actually sent her this for her birthday or something and I had also sent my Matt Amsden's Rawvolution, to check out & which she prefers, so we are trading. Between Mom & I we have almost every raw book there is.. and quite a few we both have.

I love new books.. but I have so many on the go! ..and she sent 4 other ones!!
& a bag of her dehydrated sweet potato chips, which are amazing!!!
I have the best Mom ever. : )

So, more news, a friend of mine from Halifax is going raw soon also, in about 2 weeks.. which is close to the 15th. ..when my other friends are starting. cool.

She came to visit last year and it sounds like she got inspired and had been thinking of it since.. and now is ready to give it a go.

So we were on the phone last night talking about the basics about going raw. Equipment, favorite books, staples, and especially tricks.. like always making sure there is food available, something quick & easy to eat when you come home and are starving.. like even too starving to wait until a green smoothie gets made. You should have some pate in the fridge, crackers made.. always have something like that on hand. Have nuts soaked - nuts can be soaked and dehydrated, a bit of work - the easiest is almonds, which keep at least a week soaking in a bottle of water in the fridge - convenient & really good to have on hand.

Dehydrated foods can be made in bulk and store well in the fridge for a long time. These are foods like nut & seed bars, crackers or breads. They will keep for weeks or even months.

Always have bananas.. buy a few bunches at a time, at different ripening stages, you'll get used to the routine, but make sure you have enough at first - You can always peel them and stick them in the freezer of you ever buy too many (which is doubtful!)

Stock up on lots of fruit (unless for health reasons you are staying away from fruit, but thats another story & strategy) - treat yourself and go crazy in the produce section. Its fun and you always feel better at the checkout when our cart or basket is filled with fruits & veg.

Medjool dates are great - dates with their pit replaced by an almond is just dangerous.. they are so good, try to eat just one!

Always have a salad dressing made up in the fridge. Last month I was really into an oil & vinegar dressing with fresh herbs, garlic, dijon & balsamic vinegar (I know, not raw, but such a tiny amount for such great taste - if you're going 100%, omit those. .. apple cider vinegar is the only raw vinegar.

Now I am really into the Ginger Lemon Date Dressing I lived on for the past year& a half at work. It's so good. Actually for the past few days I have been focused & getting a lot done, and not spending much time prepping food.. even making salads, and one of my quick staples has been a big bowl full of mixed baby lettuces, with just raisins and pine nuts sprinkled on top & then dressing.
sometimes quick & easy is just the way to go.. other things to focus on besides food prep.

Another fairly quick meal I am into - cause I made 2 big bottles of Luke's Green Pate - is collard wraps.Take a collard leaf, cut out the tough stem bottom part.. spread a heaping Tablespoon of pate in the center (or more depending on how big the leaf), load up with sprouts and slices of tomatoes, salt&cayenne, if you like, roll up & eat. (This is pro-raw, for beginners maybe make lighter pate, like Mock Tuna (go to the recipe section from the link) ..and you can use romaine for the wrap, or raw Nori. Nori is what you wrap sushi with, usually it is roasted and green. Raw nori is dried and black and sometimes found in Japanese or Asian stores. There is a high quality raw nori available from Goldmine.

I made some Brazil nut milk yesterday.. it goes a long way, really enjoying it. I really like almond milk, but usually make Brazil nut milk when I am too lazy or don't feel like taking the time to strain. Not that its that much work straining but it seems to be that one step between doing it or not.. you know? & because of the Brazil nuts high fat content (natural fat is good if you are raw) they blend better.. so its like 4:1 water to Brazil nuts.. I usually make 2 c water to 1/2 c Brazil nuts, and add about 6 honey dates - I like it sweet.
I am really into Chai tea right now with this..and yesterday I even added some chocolate truffle mousse for the most amazing Chocolate Brazil Nut Chai tea ever!

wow, this turned out longer than I planned.. a bit of a recap Paige!
& ps. my website is like a 101 basic crash course on raw.

January 15th is looking like a good date to go raw!

Raw Respite

Time for a break. I have been really disciplined though today - finally - with this writing a book business. It's a very good thing.. but I realized I have not been posting a lot here. That partly is because of all the transition in my life. ..but I guess most of you who know me realize that.

But I am still here for you on the Raw front. ..and although I had a few lapsing raw moments, when I ate a bit of cooked foods, I did it consciously - for grounding and still very healthy choices. I am committed to get through this raw now though. & it does take commitment. when life is changing, you are out of routine & more emotional than usual.. & I am so thankful to have great support around me, most of all, my Mom! "Mom, that pot of rice that I just made the kids is looking pretty good right now!" lol Mom always, always, always makes me feel better!

Ok, exciting news.. I have 2 very close friends who are going raw on the 15th of January. This is going to be exciting to watch. (& more support for me! ..cause of course, the more you give, the more you get.. you know! )

"Think like a man of action, and act like a man of thought."
- Henri L. Bergson

"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."
- Helen Keller

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there"
- Will Rogers

Raw in the News

As promised - raw content today ..just in time!
& that was close- Gotta Love YouTube!
Happy New Years!
& btw, just found series of videos from my fav raw chef.. will post them soon.

Raw Food Diet- Live on NBC News - Uncovers Raw Living Foods


Alkaline Diet - Live on CBS News - Is Your Health at Risk?

Happy New Year - Happy Old Year!

..just received a few videos in an e-mail that made me smile!

The new repped by Toronto's The Go! Team, (way retro, way fun!) and the old repped by Spy Film's (also Canadian) Terminus ..ok, promise - more raw content tomorrow, that will be my resolution!

Have a Wonderful New Year!

The Go! Team - Ladyflash


Terminus

Snow Crystals - our Magical World, Mysterious Water and Discovering our True Purpose in Life

Hi. I'm back. I think this is the longest break I have taken from blogging since my summer vacation. ..but I have been thinking of you. !!

I have been marveling lately at the intricacy of snowflakes and the magical atmosphere they create.. there have been a few times lately when I have been outside and snow has been falling and I have been so immersed in this truly incredible wonderland we live in.
(& to be honest I am not even a big fan of winter. I am a tropical girl at heart!)
But sun or snow or waves or forests, wherever you go - this world is an incredible, phenomenally intricate and truly magical place which we are so blessed to be a part of.

These pics were perfect to come across right now.. I have been researching and reading a 70page very interesting document on water. Water is one of the most interesting and mysterious things on our planet! I've been reading all about its ph, electromagnetic charges, life force, solubility (carrying-absorbing minerals, nutrients), resistivity.. about immature and mature water (it's life cycle) so many fascinating things..
Water is still a mystery to modern science - it is an elusive structure which evades analysis.. it keeps changing and has so many structural patterns and physical properties ..it's totally crazy!
Water molecules can be observed and arranged in triangular shapes, rings, chains, double helixes - they vary so much!
Also- Masaru Emoto's studies on water crystals! ..& if by any chance you haven't read 'Hidden Messages in Water' - definitely put that on your things to do in the New Year list!
Water is a thinking and living entity which most of us take for granted and very few of us understand!

How full of the creative genius is the air in which these are generated!
I should hardly admire more if real stars fell and lodged on my coat."
--Henry David Thoreau, 1856

The Meaning of Life - Discover your True Purpose.
I am cleaning up and getting rid of some old files and found this one - it's from an article (above)
You follow these steps & discover your life purpose within usually 20minutes - not bad.. so I thought I would give it a go.

Here’s what to do:

1. Take out a blank sheet of paper or open up a word processor where you can type (I prefer the latter because it’s faster).
2. Write at the top, “What is my true purpose in life?”
3. Write an answer (any answer) that pops into your head. It doesn’t have to be a complete sentence. A short phrase is fine.
4. Repeat step 3 until you write the answer that makes you cry. This is your purpose.

This was my list: (from about a year ago)

What is my true purpose in life?

To be a mother
To be an artist
To travel
To help others
To prepare raw foods
To be a support to other people
To raise conscious awareness
To raise the vibrational frequency of the world
To love people
To be love
To love everything
To inspire others
To help create world peace
To have fun
To explore the world
To inspire people
To listen to people.
To pay attention
To paint
To spend time by myself
To help others
To motivate others
To be courageous
To experience new things
To explore and go on adventures.
To fly high & dive deep
To tell stories
To live artistically
To create a beautiful life
To appreciate life
To be grateful
To help J..
To help M..
To help myself
To watch the sun
To live long
To be healthy
To help others be healthy
To improve the quality of life of other people
To listen to others
To understand the meaning of life
To create peace
To live in a chocolate castle

Well, I didn't cry so I doubt I actually found it.. I will have to keep searching.. interesting experiment. ..& I liked the chocolate caste part.

These pictures show real snow crystals that fell to earth in Northern Ontario, Alaska, Vermont, the Michigan Upper Peninsula, and the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. They were captured by Kenneth G. Libbrecht using a specially designed snowflake photomicroscope.

from www.snowcrystals.com

Merry Christmas - Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to everyone!

I am celebrating a wonderful Christmas day with lots of love ~ it is very special. I am very blessed to have such wonderful people around me!

I woke up to a Chai tea with Brazil nut (& date) milk. Oh actually started off with a couple ounces of E3Live. ..but then had tea & raw brownies that my Mom made and sent to me. They're great!
Recipe & a new solstice article on her website here.
This year the presents are really much less important than everything else. I am just enjoying being and feeling the Christmas energy and peace.
But, that being said, my favorite presents are the books I received. esp the ones my Mom sent - Notes from the Universe by Mike Dooley, The Art of Worldly Wisdom by Baltasar Gracian, and also The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent by Esther and Jerry Hicks, Power vs Force by David R.Hawkins (replacement - think I lent out my other one) and Beyond the Bleep by Alexandra Bruce.

Lots of reading.. but now, back to the kitchen. I am off to make one of my favorite Christmas things - Raw Cranberry Sauce, I didn't even like cranberry sauce when I was a cooked foodist & it was cooked sauce. Now I love it! and making a big salad, of course to take with me & lightly steamed green veg to take: baby bok choy, broccoli, snow peas etc. Its a big dinner, 24+ people and everyone else except me eats cooked food. Maybe I should bring a bowl of digestive enzymes. Thats a good idea! lol so back to the kitchen.! & I need a big green smoothie with lots of sunflower sprouts and blueberries..Mmmm..

Wishing everyone a most Wonderful, Peaceful and Beautiful day!!! xo

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Solstice, Celebrate the day no matter what you celebrate!

Happy Holidays! - Perceptions, Christmas Neatballs, and Jingle Ho'oponoponoing

This is the quote that has really been doing it for me lately-
"Once you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." - Dr. Wayne Dyer

I am making Neatballs, from a recipe I posted earlier, but I am putting in different herbs & spices this time .. sage-poultry seasoning type spices. I was thinking it will be good to have some filling food on hand here, just in case ..although most likely there will be so much food around.. there is always is such an abundance!

I have been doing a lot of Ho'oponoponoing lately.
In a newsletter from Mabel Katz, she mentioned doing it by saying I love you over & over to the tune of Jingle Bells - it works. It's funny but it is catchy

she says:

"SO, when you find yourself stuck in traffic or late for an appointment, or with too many gifts to wrap, standing
at the end of a long line, etc., etc., and you feel inclined to engage...instead, start singing the words "I Love You"
to the melody of Jingle Bells.

It's a perfect fit--just squeeze "I love you" in as you go along to the end of the melody, ANY melody, and that
ONE moment might feel so good that you'll choose to do it for ONE more moment and on and on and You're
CLEANING, which is our ONLY job...Divinity does the rest!"

Being happy is a very important cleaning tool in Ho'oponopono.
Focus on the 'Happy' in Happy Holidays.

"When we are Happy, we are grateful
When we are Happy, we are appreciative
When we are Happy, we forgive
When we are Happy, we love
When we are Happy, we are not harboring resentment or ill toward
anyone...because we're Happy and it only takes ONE moment."

"In Each moment:
The glass is either half full or half empty
We are either CLEANING or engaging
We are happy or we're not
We are at peace or we're not...in each moment...OUR CHOICE" ~Mabel Katz.

Happy Holidays!

Check out Mabels website here. & you can get her free online newsletter also.

Chocolate journey

These first 2 pics are what I first saw walking in the cacao loft early Tues morning. I was on the chocolate appreticeship program. I was learning/working/bartering for cacao.
I loved their to do list!

Pre- chocolate explosion. Matthieu said after my first 4-5 samples of chocolate that I was going on a chocolate journey today! He was right. We drank it, we ate it, I sampled cacao beans all day. ( Fred even showed up with new samples) Mathieu had just spent 16 or so hours the day before experimenting and producing some amazing flavours and chocolate creations. Including his special Lavender Cardamom Winter Solstice drink ..Amazing!!!

This was fun! really, really good messy! ..& a good workout too!

You are not hearing the great music in the background.. You have to have great music on to make chocolate and you have to be happy. It's a requirement. I remember a long time ago when Chocosol first started working out of the 720 location (Toronto Sprouts) and Sawako came in to work and she was sad. Michael made her go away to go relax & chill until she could come back happy ..and later he started singing and dancing with her & when she was happy and smiling again she was allowed to come make chocolate! They have important work ethics and priorities!

Sacred chocolate buildings, fun! Choclate alchemy..

Chocolate hardening in molds - Mathieu's Lemurian crystal. Good energy chocolate!!

This was Grahams last week working at the Cacao Loft. It was great we got to work together before he left.. we are both going through a lot of transitions in life!

Love you Graham, my special friend!! The world will be a brighter place wherever you are!

Jeremy's video

Test..cause i can't view the whole thing on YouTube.. maybe it'll work here.
Mathieu was showing me Jeremy's new video, for inspiration.. Jeremy shot it all from a webcam on his laptop (&w/ still pics) Jeremy is great. He's from my hometown ..& we I have this weird parallel life thing going on.
So, Jeremy is just back from LA. and he was at the Toronto Sprouts last night.
There was a staff party! It was great..the chocolate continued.. it was a serious chocolate diet yesterday. I made a new record of chocolate consumption!

LA with Jeremy Francis

Another day flowing ...inspirational agreements and chocolate

I love this animation my friend sent to me yesterday!
(I would love to give credit but don't know the artist - if you do please let me know to contact them!)
(Afternote: Thank you, just got an e-mail - the amazing artist is Jody Hewgill - click link to go to her site!)

Just a quick post. I am lying in my bed, awake since 5am, and watching inspirational channeled videos on YouTube, a few from Story Waters and there is one I loved but the url is not available to embed in here, the link to it is here. It's Esther Hicks/Abraham- On Relationships and Agreements.
So many transitions going on in my life, as you know. ..& it is snowballing. But I will talk more about that when decisions get finalized and things are more thought out.
It is a deep wish of mine that Christmas turns out well for all of us and that everyone is happy.

Today I am going to Chocosol to work, I think of it as an apprenticeship and barter for Cacao. Yay! I have worked very closely with Chocosol but haven't actually made chocolate, this should be fun.
Have a wonderful day!! xo - Love!

Escaping the Storm for the Beach

Just in.. Christmas shopping at the Eaton's Center all afternoon.. in a major snowstorm. Ok, Now Christmas is starting. TTC was even down and I followed a TTC friend of mine on a multitude of buses to get home, arms full of presents. & Now I am going to get into warm comfy clothes (or a bikini?) and get dinner- Big Salad- I am so on the raw program again.. saw my wayward ways and decided to get back - full on raw again! Life lately may be emotional.. but I have a lot of support & am dedicated to getting through this staying raw (or at least trying my hardest!)

So now, while I eat my salad, I am going to take a little walk on the beach. I have been on this beach a few times before - sunny warm.. shaking ff the cold & mountains of snow going on out there - Major storm, they say the worse one in 3 years! So a nice warm beach break before tea, and maybe chocolate truffles, and a whole lot of wrapping presents. They need to get shipped asap to the east coast.. this is a big part of my Christmas.

The Beach- Mayan Riviera

The Yule tree and the 10 most magnificent other trees in the world

It's Christmas season and I am extra unusually busy today.. experimenting with a new posting strategy. .and then off to get a tree & get presents ready and cards mailed off. Everything else in my life is changing but Christmas still remains..
Hey, I have kids, well-teenagers- and amazing Christmas memories, I do love Christmas!

I think a Christmas (or Yule) tree should be on this list.

10 Most Magnificent Trees in the World.

from a neatorama.com posting - click heading to see full article

"A tree is a wonderful living organism which gives shelter, food,
warmth and protection to all living things. It even gives shade to
those who wield an axe to cut it down" - Buddha.

There are probably hundreds of majestic and magnificent trees in the world - of these, some are particularly special:

10. Lone Cypress in Monterey

(Image credit: bdinphoenix [flickr])

(Image credit: mikemac29 [flickr])

Buffeted by the cold Pacific Ocean wind, the scraggly Lone Cypress in Pebble Beach, Monterey Peninsula, California, isn’t a particularly large tree. It makes up for its small size, however, with its iconic status as a stunningly beautiful tree in splendid isolation, framed by an even more beautiful background of the Pacific Ocean.

9. Circus Trees

As a hobby, bean farmer Axel Erlandson [wiki] shaped trees - he pruned, bent, and grafted trees into fantastic shapes and called them "Circus Trees." For example, to make this "Basket Tree" arborsculpture, Erlandson planted six sycamore trees in a circle and then grafted them together to form the diamond patterns.

Basket Tree (Image credit: jpeepz [flickr])

The two-legged tree (Image credit: Vladi22, Wikipedia)

Ladder tree (Image credit: Arborsmith)

Erlandson was very secretive and refused to reveal his methods on how to grow the Circus Trees (he even carried out his graftings behind screens to protect against spies!) and carried the secrets to his grave.

The trees were later bought by millionaire Michael Bonfante, who transplanted them to his amusement park Bonfante Gardens in Gilroy in 1985.

8. Giant Sequoias: General Sherman

(Image credit: Humpalumpa [flickr])

Giant Sequoias only grow in Sierra Nevada, California, are the world’s biggest trees (in terms of volume). The biggest is General Sherman in the Sequoia National Park - 2,200 years old, 275 feet tall, and weighs over 6000 tons.

Each year, the tree adds enough wood to make a regular 60-foot tall tree. It’s no wonder that naturalist John Muir said "The Big Tree is Nature’s forest masterpiece, and so far as I know, the greatest of living things."

7. Coast Redwood: Hyperion and Drive-Thru Trees

There is another sequoia species (not to be confused with Giant Sequoia) that is quite remarkable: the Coast Redwood, the tallest trees in the world.

The reigning champion is a tree called Hyperion in the Redwood National Park, identified by researcher Chris Atkins and amateur naturalist Michael Taylor in 2006. Measuring over 379 feet (155.6 115 m) tall, Hyperion beat out the previous record holder Stratosphere Giant [wiki] in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park (at 370 feet / 112.8 m).

That’s not all that’s amazing about the Coast Redwood: there are four giant California redwoods big enough that you can drive your car through them!

The most famous of the drive-through trees is the Chandelier Tree [wiki] in Leggett, California. It’s a 315 foot tall redwood tree, with a 6 foot wide by 9 foot tall hole cut through its base in the 1930s.

Chandelier Tree. (Image credit: hlh-abg [flickr])

6. Chapel-Oak of Allouville-Bellefosse

Chapel-Oak of Allouville-Bellefosse (Image credit: Old trees in Netherlands & Europe)

The Chêne-Chapelle (Chapel-Oak) of Allouville-Bellefosse is the most famous tree in France - actually, it’s more than just a tree: it’s a building and a religious monument all in one.

In 1669, l’Abbe du Detroit and du Cerceau decided to build a chapel in (at that time) a 500 years old or so oak (Quercus robur) tree made hollow by a lightning bolt. The priests built a small altar to the Virgin Mary. Later on, a second chapel and a staircase were added.

Now, parts of the tree are dead, the crown keeps becoming smaller and smaller every year, and parts of the tree’s bark, which fell off due to old age, are covered by protective oak shingles. Poles and cables support the aging tree, which in fact, may not live much longer. As a symbol, however, it seems that the Chapel-Oak of Allouville-Bellefosse may live on forever.

5. Quaking Aspen: Pando (The Trembling Giant)

Aspen grove (Image credit: scottks1 [flickr])

Quaking Aspen in winter (Image credit: darkmatter [flickr])

Pando [wiki] or the Trembling Giant in Utah is actually a colony of a single Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides) tree. All of the trees (technically, "stems") in this colony are genetically identical (meaning, they’re exact clones of one another). In fact, they are all a part of a single living organism with an enormous underground root system.

Pando, which is Latin for "I Spread," is composed of about 47,000 stems spread throughout 107 acres of land. It estimated to weigh 6,600 tons, making it the heaviest known organism. Although the average age of the individual stems are 130 years, the entire organism is estimated to be about 80,000 years old!

4. Montezuma Cypress: The Tule Tree

The Tule Tree Towers over a church next to it (Image credit: jubilohaku [flickr])

Full width of the Tule Tree (Image credit: Gengiskanhg, Wikipedia)

Close-up of the tree’s gnarled trunk. Local legends say that you can make out animals like jaguars and elephants in the trunk, giving the tree the nickname of "the Tree of Life" (Image credit: jvcluis [flickr])

El Árbol del Tule [wiki] ("The Tule Tree") is an especially large Montezuma cypress (Taxodium mucronatum) near the city of Oaxaca, Mexico. This tree has the largest trunk girth at 190 feet (58 m) and trunk diameter at 37 feet (11.3 m). The Tule tree is so thick that people say you don’t hug this tree, it hugs you instead!

3. Banyan Tree: Sri Maha Bodhi Tree

The Banyan tree is named after "banians" or Hindu traders who carry out their business under the tree. Even if you have never heard of a Banyan tree (it was the tree used by Robinson Crusoe for his treehouse), you’d still recognize it. The shape of the giant tree is unmistakable: it has a majestic canopy with aerial roots running from the branches to the ground.

Banyan tree (Image credit: Diorama Sky [flickr])

If you were thinking that the Banyan tree looks like the trees whose roots snake through the ruins of the Ta Prohm temple like tentacles of the jungle (Lara Croft, anyone?) at Ankor, Cambodia , you’d be right!

Banyan tree (or is it silk-cotton tree?) in the ruins of Ta Prohm, Ankor, Cambodia
(Image Credit: Casual Chin [flickr])

One of the most famous species of Banyan,is the Sri Maha Bodhi [wiki] tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. It is said that the tree was grown from a cutting from the original tree under which Buddha became enlightened in the 6th century BC.

Planted in 288 BC, it is the oldest living human-planted tree in the world, with a definitive planting date!

2. Bristlecone Pine: Methuselah and Prometheus, the Oldest Trees in the World.

Methuselah Grove (Image Credit: NOVA Online)

Bristlecone pine grove in which Prometheus grew (Image credit: James R. Bouldin, Wikipedia)

The oldest living tree in the world is a White Mountains, California, bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) named Methuselah [wiki], after the Biblical figure who lived to 969 years old. The Methuselah tree, found at 11,000 feet above sea level, is 4,838 years old - it is not only the oldest tree but also the oldest living non-clonal organism in the world.

Before Methuselah was identified as the world’s oldest tree by Edmund Schulman in 1957, people thought that the Giant Sequoias were the world’s oldest trees at about 2,000 years old. Schulman used a borer to obtain a core sample to count the growth rings of various bristlecone pines, and found over a dozen trees over 4,000 years old.

The story of Prometheus [wiki] is even more interesting: in 1964, Donald R. Currey [wiki], then a graduate student, was taking core samples from a tree named Prometheus. His boring tool broke inside the tree, so he asked for permission from the US Forest Service to cut it down and examine the full cross section of the wood. Surprisingly the Forest Service agreed! When they examined the tree, Prometheus turned out to be about 5,000 years old, which would have made it the world’s oldest tree when the scientist unwittingly killed it!

Stump of the Prometheus Tree. (Image Credit: James R. Bouldin, Wikipedia)

Today, to protect the trees from the inquisitive traveler, the authorities are keeping their location secret (indeed, there are no photos identifying Methuselah for fear of vandalism).

1. Baobab

The amazing baobab or monkey bread tree can grow up to nearly 100 feet (30 m) tall and 35 feet (11 m) wide. Their defining characteristic: their swollen trunk are actually water storage - the baobab tree can store as much as 31,700 gallon (120,000 l) of water to endure harsh drought conditions.

Baobab trees are native to Madagascar (it’s the country’s national tree!), mainland Africa, and Australia. A cluster of "the grandest of all" baobab trees can be found in the Baobab Avenue, near Morondava, in Madagascar:

(Image credit: Fox-Talbot, Wikipedia)

(Image credit: plizzba [flickr])

(Image credit: Daniel Montesino [flickr])

In Ifaty, southwestern Madagascar, other baobabs take the form of bottles, skulls, and even teapots:

Teapot baobab (Image credit: Gilles Croissant)