As I mentioned in a previous post, I work with GIS (digital maps) professionally. As a result, I have used GIS technology to map just about anything I can think of on the ranch. I've precisely mapped every fence line, post, gate, waterline, road, stream, water tank, shipping container, and corral panel on the ranch. This comes in very useful when I want to get an exact measurement of a gate, the number and type of fence posts in a given area, the size of a pasture, or where I buried a water line.
I have not only recorded were something is, but often when it happened. If mowed an area, for instance, I'll record the area I mowed and when I mowed it. The above map shows some areas I've mowed recently. That comes in very useful later when I examine the location for the quality of the grow back. Doing this systematically can help me pinpoint the best times to mow a specific area in the future.
One thing that I have recorded for several years is when and where I position bales of hay in the fields. Doing so has helped me calculate both the effects of where I place bales of hay and the rate at which bison consume the hay. Especially interesting to me has been to study the effects that the deposition and subsequent consumption of a single bale of hay can have on a location for years after the event. With each bale of hay comes a plethora of seeds and some of those seeds start to grow. Some of the hay is dropped by the bison and left on the ground and this changes the local ecosystem. Additionally, the feces and urine from the bison add a to the mix which is worked together into the soil as the bison walk over it. Years later I can visit these locations and find an amazing assortment of plants growing densely where a bale was placed. In areas where it was previously just barren ground with poor soil I'll find an eight foot diameter circle of diverse lush plant life.
One winter I was working on the ranch and noticed hundreds of tiny mushrooms growing in what seemed to be very specific portions of the pasture. When I checked my hay data I found these mushrooms were growing precisely in spots where I had put hay bales two years before. I've always been interested in learning new species of plant, animals, and fungi and eventually determined that the fungus was definitely a species of Psilocybe. This genus of fungi is distinguished by a gelatinous outer layer that can be pealed from its cap. I suspect it is Psilocybe liniformans var. americana, but I'm not sure. I have never seen this species growing on the pasture since that winter so it's quite a mystery.