i hear (from a song) that ground hog skin works quite well
for banjos and shoe strings...

i have a bodhran...presumably goat skin...and always
have to carry either a hair dryer or a spray bottle
to counter act the weather's effect on the leather.

i did try to apply lanolin to the leather once -- it
was a disaster...tacky, stickyt for a long long time.

maybe a synthetic drum head would be less susceptible
to changes in weather...