Since the birthing of the goat babies I have been outside most of the day. Every time I stay outside I try to wear my hat. I have a Magellen hat that is vented on top but has a wide brim. It is not a fashionable hat, but it does protect my face and neck from skin cancer, which I did have the basal cell carcinoma a few years back.
The other essential is shoes that you don’t wear anywhere else. For me that way I focus the germs and dirt on one pair of shoes, I don’t to keep shoes clean that will be dirty the next few hours. Doesn’t matter what type of shoes you prefer, only that you pick one comfortable.
The next tool I use is Off. We have tried every alternative to a mosquito spray from Skin So Soft to eating garlic. Nothing is as effective as Off. DEET is the ingredient that works on mosquitoes, I would love it if something else worked but no such luck. I rationalize that if mosquitoes carry worse things than DEET can ever do to my family. We have many species at the farm, and you don’t want to be bitten by the kind we have.
We prefer the sport kind, it keeps on you when you sweat.
Now it becomes the hard part. You should wear sunscreen each and every day. Recently I have not been as responsible as I should be.We love the type you spray on, and is the sport type as well. Many times in in Texas you will sweat it off before you leave the sidewalk, sport type allows it to stay on a bit longer.
Next tool, hydration. When you are outside so long, you get thirsty. The boys tend to run and get a huge glass of water everytime they get thirsty. I do the wrong thing, but still it is better than nothing. I run and get my glass of tea. I tried one day to do water but I ended up not drinking anything and getting a bit dehydrated.
The other tool we try to use outside is balance. By that I mean we work, and we rest a minute or two. Then the boys play for a bit, until there is work to be done. Working hard the entire time is just too stressful for all of us. If you stop, drink water and watch the birds fly, or smell the roses you tend to work harder when you have to.
White our farm work may be different, outdoor work is pretty much all the same. You are exposed to the elements, and your body needs protection.
Just to recap because I love it when blogs give me a short cheat sheet!
Tools you need for Outdoor Work:
- Sun Protective Hat HERE is the type I use.
- Off Spray. HERE is what we keep on Hand.
- Work Shoes. No link because I can’t find what I wear. I buy Crock knock offs at Walmart, my real Crocs are too good for the farm. The boys wear boots.
- Sunscreen HERE is what we use.
- Balance. For this take a seat, either in a garden chair, a syrup bucket, an old iron Table in the goat pen and rest a couple of minutes, drink water and relax.
There you have it, the list that will help you enjoy being outside!
![[Post to Twitter]](http://brazoscowgirl.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter3.png){kind=icon}
