David Mitchell

My wife and I have a large homestead (110 acres--mostly wooded, on a mountain slope) in SW Virginia (Appalachia), near Abingdon, VA. We moved from Ohio 8 years ago (after the kids all left home) and have enjoyed this area and climate for homesteading. We have dairy goats, chickens, meat rabbits, and a farm dog and cats. We have lots of things planted and a lot of wooded areas.

My wife is originally from Japan. She still travels to Japan most years to visit her family, but since we have had our homestead, it has been difficult for me to go with her--that is, to find a farm sitter for an extended period of time.

We are considering getting an experienced farm sitter to help out. This would require someone experienced with livestock and homesteading.

Anyway, if this interests you, send me a message.

david.mitchell.inbox@gmail.com

We have been homesteading in SW Virginia, on a mostly wooded, mountain slope, and we've had to address the same questions.
We have dairy goats, chickens, and meat rabbits.
Feel free to dialogue via email: david.mitchell.inbox@gmail.com
In brief, our goats love to eat bark, and they would probably kill all the trees if we let them roam free.
The chickens love the forest and forage for bugs under leaves, etc. They get too far away sometimes, and we typically lose them to predators (fox, hawk, bear) from time to time.
The rabbits we have in portable "rabbit tractors" and they mow the grass in our orchard, and fertilize along the way.
I'm not sure about other livestock.
We've kind of followed a reverse permaculture path, since we are starting with forest and working backward to open up areas for undergrowth and different layers. We keep propagating a variety of edibles and spreading them throughout. The deer are a constant battle though.

I could discuss some options with you, in SW Virginia.
david.mitchell.inbox@gmail.com

We are developing a fairly large and diverse homestead in SW Virginia, and it keeps us very active with plenty of physical labor (which I consider exercise). Before we moved here, we visited some regional woofing hosts and got input from them. One couple mentioned that, during the winter, they work out lifting weights, to keep up their strength from the coming season, and they found that it made a huge difference in their ability to handle the growing season labor. Personally, I just try to remain active in all seasons, since there are always physical tasks to do outside. However, I was wondering if others have found that a dedicated fitness program involving aerobic exercise or weight lifting has been helpful to develop core muscle strength and endurance.

We rented it from Amazon Prime last week. It is very well done, with great cinematography. As mentioned by others, it seems that they had quite substantial financial support, professional and labor support, for what they did. The strong theme is the interconnectedness of nature, which was nicely developed, but I got the feeling that they were selectively grouping their experiences to make it fit the theme. From my homesteading perspective, there were many details that were probably not shown or mentioned to keep the theme clear. All in all, very impressive. Worth watching.

Since moving to western Virginia and getting some land with wild pawpaws, we’ve been trying different recipes. Ice cream, cheesecake, pudding, and today pawpaw waffles. Seemed crazy but both my wife and I got nauseated after the waffles and hadn’t eaten anything else. Never had a problem with any other recipe. So perhaps it is the high heat of the waffle griddle that does something to the fatty acids as mentioned by others. We’ll probably stick to fresh or frozen at this point.

I'm near the Great Lakes, high humidity and high temps.
That link looks like the new wicking fabric tech that's been around a few years. Simply astonishing how well it works even in a humid climate.  I no longer fear those days. They still suck, but I don't dread them.

Good to hear that, Roy. I've ordered some already! Hoping to start a new phase in life...

I have been wearing black long sleeve shirts for many years  here in the deep South.

Do you think these are good to try, brews? Thanks.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KBZSQ64/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Post Today 5:44:20 AM     Subject: Clothing suggestions for hot humid sunny weather outdoor work
I'm in Djibouti right now.  I'd recommend khaki pants, light cotton longsleeve shirt, bandana or a shemagh.  Sandals if appropriate, low top slip ons like Keens if you have to go steel toe.  How much of SW Asia and Africa are sporting sandals?  Pretty big majority.

Thanks, Jim. I appreciate the input.

With the sandals, working in the soil, the problem I run into is constantly getting dirt and pebbles in them, so I will often wear heavy duty socks with them. Any tips on that issue? Are there sandal designs that are better for preventing the debris from getting in.

I'm in the bush right now, and my Internet isn't good enough to upload video. But when I go to the capital in a month or so I'll try to remember to record a video to show how I tie a work turban.

Thanks much Nathanael. Be safe.