Relief from winter doldrums: 3. Plan a trip to the tropics

What could be a better escape from the winter doldrums than planning a trip to the tropics? An invitation to speak at a symposium at the 2010 Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation meetings provides all the excuse the Phactor needs! And where you might ask is this international scientific organization going to hold their meetings? Bali! Part of the Indonesian archipelago. Unfortunately the meeting is not until July and by then the weather in Lincolnland will be approximating a tropical climate, but the idea is to think about it now. This image shows the spectacularly terraced rice paddies of the central highlands, a terrain you would think was too steep for rice cultivation.