Field notes from the open range.
Short reads on weather, pasture and moving cattle, written from the ranges where our stations run.
-
Weather
Reading a cloud tower before lunch
What vertical growth tells you about the afternoon, and when a rising build index is worth acting on.
-
Wind
Finding the lee paddock when the wind backs
A shift from west to north-west changes which ground is sheltered. Here is how to pick it early.
-
Pasture
Which gates turn to mud first
Soil moisture readings show the route a herd can still walk after rain, and the one to avoid.
-
Herd
Counting a herd through one gate
How collar pings and a single choke point keep the tally honest when the light is going.
-
Station
Where to put a nine-metre mast
Ridge, saddle or flat: what each position sees of the sky, and what it misses.
-
Power
Running a station on eleven watts
One solar panel, one battery and a winter of short days. The numbers behind the draw.
-
Field log
A hail front, written in six lines
The Tuesday log from the north range, read line by line, from first warning to all clear.
-
Console
Why every readout is a single line
Design notes on a console you can check at a glance, with gloves on, from across the room.