A powerful wind

Took this pic of a wind farm when we were on the Tablelands behind Cairns. The turbines are huge and make an eerie whistling sound, but the cows didn't seem to mind, so neither did we. There is talk of wind farms being harmful to human health (people falling sick who live near them), but I don't know how much of that is true and how much is sour grapes because they don't want them in their neighbourhood. Wind power seems like a fantastic alternative to what we've got now anyway. I'm sure the residents of Fukushima where the recent meltdown occurred would rather have had a few big fans whirring away on their hilltops than the lethal cocktail they were served with. More power to the wind I say.

Attack of the killer figs

When we visited the Tablelands near Cairns, we saw this strange sight. It's called a curtain fig and it's not something you want to make friends with. The sign in the attached picture explains how a fig seed lands in the crown of a tree and then puts down aerial roots all the way to the ground. These roots then encircle and eventually strangle the host tree. The dead tree then falls onto a nearby tree, where it leans and the fig's roots develop into this curtain-like arrangement. Eventually the host tree rots away and the fig tree is left standing by itself. Does it feel remorse for its actions? No, it doesn't give a fig. It's curtains for anything that gets in its way. (sorry, no more puns).