06x11 - Smoky Mountain Fury

[bunniefuu]

This homestead has
an ominous predator

That's invisible --
the wind.

We got up here.
We didn't know about the wind.

You can't see it,

But its footprint
of carnage is everywhere.

What's going on here?

That could k*ll somebody.

Steve: there are so many areas
of the homestead

That are
just dangerous.

Go!
Hold on!

Crazy gets the job done.

You need to be
in an institution!

And if you're not crazy, you'll
never make it as a homesteader.

-Pull it!
-Pull, pull, pull.

You didn't pull it!

That went well.

I would like to get to where
I can do this myself.

What happened here?

[ Laughs ]

I think a lot of women
are like mick

Where they have no idea
what they're capable of.

I want this homestead to live
on for generations to come.

♪♪

--Captions by vitac --
www.vitac.com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

Okay, kids, welcome
to beautiful tennessee.

You are now in the
great smoky mountains,

And the cherokee called it
the land of the blue smoke

Because these mountains
seem to always have a mist.

Misty: the first settler
here in the smoky mountains

Was a woman.

Girl power.
Whoo-hoo!

Martha jane huskey ogle.

It's cold out there.
You guys need to layer up.

Whoo!
[ Laughs ]

Narrator: the great smoky
mountains run along

The eastern border

Of tennessee
and north carolina.

Because of their prominence
and elevation,

They cause extreme heating
and cooling of air currents,

And this creates brutal
hurricane-force windstorms

That have one
homesteading family

On the path
to off-grid disaster.

Steve: the wind on this property
comes up through the valley

That had resulted in the trees
falling down,

The fencing, the roofing,
the chicken coop.

There's so many areas
of the homestead

That are just dangerous.

Mick: the predators
on our property --

It's scary to think about.

We've lost 35
of our 42 chickens.

It's crazy.
It's unpredictable.

If things keep going the way
that they're going,

We will not be able
to do this homestead.

The dream that we had
is slipping away.

Raneys, please help us.

Marty: well, the driveway
is plenty steep.

Matt: oh, my lord.

This driveway is insane.

There's a family
splitting wood.

That's what I like to see.

Steve: hello.

Marty raney.

Steve ruder.

Mick, you're mick?

Yes.
And?

-How are you?
-Allyson.

Allyson,
nice to meet you.

This place is stunning.
Thank you.

Look at the view.

-Yeah.
-I have to just say it.

This place doesn't look
like it needs any help.

The bones of it are good,
but we have some issues.

Do you want some?

Mick: we decided to move here
and start a homestead

Because we wanted to have
that self-sustaining lifestyle

For ourselves and for
our family in the mountains.

Steve: and we knew nothing
about homesteading,

But we decided just to sell
our house on the bay in florida

And traded dolphins
for donkeys.

Narrator: as the ruders settled
in to their new journey

As homesteaders,

They thought nothing
could go wrong.

Come here, buddy.

The first 2 years of
homesteading was fantastic.

It was incredibly challenging,
just learned every day.

We didn't buy a vegetable.
We didn't buy meat.

We had three-season garden,

And, you know, I was raising
and harvesting

And processing
all of our protein.

But for 2 years, we had a really
wonderful thing going.

Narrator:
but then reality struck.

Steve: ultimately, we lived off
some savings,

But then we hit a threshold.

Narrator: without the ability
to generate income

On the homestead,

Steve went back
to work full-time,

Leaving mick to manage
the property by herself.

Mick: I feel very unprepared to
deal with the homestead at all.

I don't have any experience
with homesteading.

It's very unsettling for me
to be here by myself.

And the region's
unrelenting windstorms

Threaten to blow
the homestead off the map.

Steve: we dodged
all the major hurricanes

While we lived in florida,
but we got up here.

We didn't know
about the wind.

Mick: the wind
is extremely crazy,

Now what I expected at all.

The wind has blown away roofing,
siding, parts of the barn.

It will move hay bales.

All of the tin sheeting
is dangling by a few nails.

The entire sheet
just lifts up.

We have the chicken coop
that's falling apart here off

To the side with the chickens
and a lot of cow poop.

This is incredibly dangerous.

The top is coming down.

I've put some tin on the bottom
because we lost about 25,


And it's collapsing.

It's all rotted out.

Ally: the kind of predators
we have up here,

We have some coyotes,

And we have a few bobcats
that come into our yard

And k*ll our chickens.

Steve: I'm home so little,

And it leaves me
very little time to teach mick

Or ally how to do
any of the things.

Mick: we've had to downsize

And really get rid of a lot
of our animals.

We don't have a garden
this year,

But we want to be the ones
putting food on our table.

We believe
in this lifestyle.

The thought of giving it up
is heartbreaking

Because we're on the critical
part of making a decision,

Whether we're going to be able
to continue living here.

And to turn back now,
it's a crisis for us.

So we've got a run-in barn,

And we've got
some giant black walnuts

That have decided to fall
on the run-in barn.

Show me the way.

Misty: mick, you want
to show me around,

Show me the garden
and animals?

-Yeah.
-Okay.

Marty: alright.
So what am I looking at here?

I try not to be in here because
it's incredibly dangerous.

-Especially with all the wind.
-Right.

We get winds on a regular basis
that are hurricane-strength,

You know, like cat 1,


And we're not
storing anything in here

Because it's so dangerous
right now.

What's going on here?

That's a pretty
good-sized limb.

Yeah.
That could k*ll somebody.

Another one?
Yep, another one.

That's the one that I was
standing at

When it came down on me,
and it's just sketchy,

And I won't let mick
in here anymore

Because it's just
too dangerous.

Widowmakers coming right
through the metal.

Yeah.

Oh, man.

Danger, right there.

Marty: these trees are massive,

Whether it's a branch
or trees that big around.

Tree falling is dangerous.

I don't care what anybody says.

It's the most dangerous thing
you can do in a homestead.

What a cool barn.
Wow.

It's getting ravaged
along this whole length, huh?

Yeah, it is.

The largest outbuilding
on this homestead is the barn,

And that building is
literally being blown away.

How many cows do you have?

Steve: nine.

The idea was to sell four
or five every year.

Unfortunately, it wasn't set up
with a headgate.

For 2 days, I tried to get
that cow

Into a livestock trailer
with help,

By myself,
got crushed.

It flipped me
through the gate.

It's been an unsuccessful and
incredibly dangerous adventure.

Narrator:
across the homestead...

Matt: so do animals
ever get out?

Ally: oh, yeah, definitely.

...allyson shows matt the state
of the livestock pad.

They can just fit right
through here.

This is kind of like cow limbo
right here.

Ally: yeah,
they can just push it up.

The tallest one, she can
just step right over.

Okay, so this fence
is definitely an issue.

I mean, it's like...
Yeah, it's falling.

You know,
it's not very sturdy.

They push it down every time
they get out,

And then we try to fix it,
but it just doesn't stay.

Ally: I'm really worried about
moving off to college

In about 3 years
and my mom being here

If my stepdad isn't here
to take care of the homestead.

I would really like to learn
how to help them more

Because I don't have any
experience with that right now.

So the barn looks old.

Oh, yeah, it's very old.

But it's still usable,
right?

Yeah, somewhat.

Narrator: on the other edge
of the homestead...

This kind of ground
is real dangerous

Because you can't tell
it's slick.

Yeah.

... Mick shows misty the
wind-ravaged chicken coop.

This is the chicken coop.
I see chicken wire.

Yep,
it's in disrepair.

Is this wind damage?

It is, yep.

How many chickens
did you used to have?

We used to have about 40,

And they weren't all
in this structure at first.

We did have some that
free-ranged.

Yeah.

We thought we'd try that for
a little while,

But unfortunately...
How'd that go?

...they were k*lled
by predators --

The foxes coming in

And two hawks that
still hover around the area.

Oh, those aerial predators
are...

It gets intense.
Yeah.

So how many chickens
do you have now?

We have six.

Wow.
Yeah.

I don't have a lot of skills
and expertise to manage this,

And so it's just
kind of wasted away.

Here they are.
Oh, wow.

So the roof just
completely collapsed.

Yeah.

I definitely need more knowledge
and understanding

In order to make
our homestead work.

Well,
there's a lot of work.

Yeah. I don't know how to do
this stuff.

Yeah.
And I need help with learning

How and what I can
reasonably manage.

Yeah.

♪♪

[ Bird caws ]

Marty: this is a harsh place
to homestead.

Misty: mm-hmm.

The wind howls through here,
and if you don't believe that,

Just look at
any of these buildings.

Particularly that one is
so dangerous

That he won't even
let his family in there,

And everything
that was once in there,

Including the hay bales,

Has moved outside and covered
with snow as we speak,

Susceptible to rot and mold.

The wind is a predator.
Yeah.

Let me tell you right now,


They probably won't want
to stay here anymore.

So that said,
we rebuild structures

Where the chickens
will be safe, right?

More importantly, and this

Is where it's going
to get dangerous,

We've got that barn structure
with at least 10 trees

That have to be removed
before we can even work on it.

It's going to be


So there's nine cows here,
and they brought them here

To raise them
and sell them.

None of that has happened
in 2 years.

To this day, no cow has ever
been loaded from this property

And hauled away for money.

I see the problem, but we have
to focus on windproofing

This homestead first.

So we have a lot of work
cut out for us.

Let's see if they can handle it.
Let's go find them.

Alright.

Narrator: to rescue the ruders
from gale-force winds,

Marty will remove trees
that threaten

To topple the storage barn

And repair
the cattle barn's roof.

Misty will windproof
the family's chicken coop

By moving it to the leeward side
of the barn,

Fortify it with cedar,
and enclose an outdoor chicken

Run to protect the animals
from predators.

Matt will teach mick
essential off-grid skills,

So she can hold her own
on the homestead.

Marty:
this is an amazing place.

-Yeah.
-Everything was great.

You were self-sufficient,
and circumstances changed

Where this guy
had to leave the homestead

And go make a living
and support his family.

I think this is one of the few
homesteads we've visited

Where you guys were
successful homesteaders,

And you were doing it well.

I would like to get to where
I can do this myself,

And I can have pride in it so
that I don't feel overwhelmed.

I think we could get to that
place this week.

Great.
So you do have some issues here.

It's not every homestead
has a wind issue like this.

We're going to have to choose
our battles in just 7 days.

Do you have a chain saw?

-I do.
-Is it sharp?

Yep.
Okay.

Got gas and oil?
Yes, sir.

Marty: the enemy on
this homestead is wind.

Big winds are coming.

They're facing a long winter.

Everything is in the path
of peril.

♪♪

Narrator: in the great smoky
mountains of tennessee,

The raneys are responding
to a distress call

From a family
at the end of their rope --

The wind-ravaged ruders.

Mick: we don't want to give up
on this dream that we have.

Steve: the goal is to stay here
on the mountain

For the rest of our lives.

Now, with the help
of a small build team,

The raneys have just


And set up the homestead for
success before it's blown apart.

♪♪

Clearly, that big black walnut
has got to go.

It's public enemy
number one,

But we've got quite a few trees
here that should go.

Steve: absolutely.

When you hear the weatherman
talk about a wind advisory,

He's talking about winds
of 30 miles an hour.

Steve tells me that 40
and 50 mile

An hour is common
on this homestead,

And seeing all
these massive trees

Looming over the dry shed
is a perfect recipe for damage.

You're going to have 1,
maybe 2 years supply of wood.

Fantastic.
Grab the saws.

Let's go.

The most dangerous thing
you can do on a homestead,

Bar none,
is clear land.

♪♪

Look out!

If it's steep ground,
it's even more dangerous.

Go, marty!

Got it!

It only takes a branch this big
to k*ll you

If it falls from the top.

♪♪

Watch out!

Narrator: with most of
the danger trees felled,

It's time for marty

To take down
public enemy number one.

My idea is to take this cable,
run it through a pulley.

One end, it will go to the tree.

The other end will go
to the excavator,

But I don't have a pulley.

We're going to have to come up
with something.

One man's lawn mower tire
is another man's pulley.

The idea is to go
around the tree.

We'll go through this hole.

We'll chain it here,

And then the cable
will spin through this...

Have you done this before?
No.

This week, I'm hoping
to learn a lot from marty.

I have taught myself
everything so far,

But it's taken me


And I just don't have
the time now

To continue to learn
through practice and error.

So I'm hopeful that marty
can take


And knowledge

And give me a crash course
so when he leaves here,

We have a better understanding
of what this place

Needs to make it thrive
the way that we want to.

It's getting dark, so I'm
getting a little nervous.

See that walnut tree?

It's leaning so heavily over,
looming over this barn.

It's going to be
the hardest tree

We've cut down maybe ever
on a homestead.

Alright. Get me up
to that branch, please.

Steve: the raneys have
a unique skill set.

They have the experience and
the knowledge and the expertise.

He's crazy.

Okay!

Marty has been very sensitive
to the fact

That we just never know when
one of those big black walnuts

Is going to come
crashing down.

It's already happened.

Matt: coming down.

Gentle.

For me to replace
that run-in shed,

That's 20,


They're the real deal.

If this all works out the way
we plan, that will fall,

Miss the building, not k*ll
anybody and take us with it.

Fabulous.

♪♪

♪♪

Coming!
Oh, oh, oh!

I think he gives it a pull,
it's coming.

[ Whistles ]
little bit!

Give it a tug!

♪♪

Marty, watch...
It's coming!

Heads-up!

Pull it!
Pull it!

Oh, oh, oh!

♪♪

You didn't pull it!

Matt: I did.

That went well.

[ Laughs ]

That was fun.

Minimal damage.
Where's the damage?

We lost a little fence.

That's it.
Where?

Just right here.
Right here.

No big deal.
No big deal.

Steve: I'm impressed.

I'm thankful, and it's just
refreshing to meet

Someone who walks the walk
and talks the talk.

♪♪

Narrator:
over at the livestock barn...

I think the easiest way to keep
chickens alive

Is to lock them
up at night.

Okay.

Do we go, like, 8x20?

Misty: this family,
they had around 40 birds,

And I'd love to be able
to get them back

To that place
to give back what they lost

But also allow room
for them to grow.

And that's going to be
a pretty big chicken coop.

Narrator: misty's plan to
protect the homesteaders' brood

Is to build a 10x16 foot
cedar chicken coop

On the leeward side
of the livestock barn

To protect it from the wind.

The coop will have
a sturdy metal roof,

And an enclosed
adjacent chicken rod

Will protect the birds
from aerial predators.

Misty: we really love when you
visit homesteads

That have cedar trees.

Steve has a few.

We've already started
to use some

For the foundation
posts in the ground.

They're amazing to use
for siding.

It's water-resistant.

It's rot-resistant.
It looks amazing.

It smells amazing.

So we're off to a good start.

♪♪

Narrator: the next morning...

Marty: the pond has a very
serious algae problem.

Narrator: ...marty addresses
the homestead's water source,

Contaminated by years
of decomposition

From windswept organic material

Piling up around its bank
and beneath the surface.

Trees grow a million leaves.

A million leaves fall off
every year into the pond,

Float to the shore,
biodegrade.

Cows poop.

They got a big mess, okay?

You got muck all the way
around the rim of this.

Stand back!

I'm going to remove
the organics,

The trees and the brush,
that are growing in that pond.

My goal is to provide clean,

Healthy drinking water
for the livestock.

♪♪

I'm going to go out there!
We're going to get them all!

Let's do it!

If I start sinking on the side,
start screaming.

Okay.

♪♪

Marty: have you ever seen
loch ness monster?

Well, after today,
I believe in it

Because once the tracks
disappeared on the excavator,

This pond had
the lock x monster.

♪♪

That's the craziest damn thing
I've ever seen.

We got one tree left
that's all the way across!

Let's leave it!

I'm going for it.

Let's go!

Marty:
crazy gets the job done,

And if you're not crazy,
frankly,

You'll never make it
as a homesteader.

You got it!
You got it!

You got it!

You need to be
in an institution.

You know that.
What's left?

It's all gone, every tree,
every bush, yes or no?

Yes!
That's it!

You got nothing.

Everything is out!

Let's get you out!

♪♪

Look out! Look out!

Hold on!
Hold on!

♪♪

Narrator: deep in the smoky
mountains of tennessee,

The raneys are racing to save
a wind-battered homestead.

Do we go, like, 8x20?

While misty works to shore up
the ruders' poultry practice...

You need to be
in an institution!

...marty is on a mission
to save the wind-damaged pond.

Look out!
Hold on!

♪♪

Don't get
near the machine!

Please!

♪♪

♪♪

Whoo!

♪♪

Misty: okay!

Narrator: back at the barn...

Misty: we've salvaged a ton of
material off the property.

Foundation is done.
Floor is in.

Now we're starting to
frame these walls,

And I want to actually match
the design of this barn,

And what I want to do
is just build nesting boxes

Along this whole side of the
build so we get that windbreak.

And we have these old windows
that I just want to attach

On these southern-facing walls.

It allows light, and it allows
her to just open up

And access the nesting boxes

We're going to build along
this whole wall.

I think in the end,
it's going to come together,

But time-wise, this is
going to get real tight.

Like, it's pretty stressful.

♪♪

Narrator: the next morning,

Marty rehabilitates
the cattle barn.

This barn, it looks quaint,
romantic, but it's got issues.

It's missing metal.

It's missing boards.

The wind has ravaged this
for the last 20 years or so,

And these cows need
a safe place.

Marty: let's put some screws
in this thing,

Replace some tin, replace some
boards, clean it out.

You must be this tall
to ride this ride!

An on-grade contractor
might give these guys a bid

For 100 grand, say,

"Hey, let's tear it down
and start over,"

But we're off-grid contractors.

We're homesteaders.

Our plan is to just source
materials from this existing

Homestead and get the barn back
into a functioning status.

That's the homestead way.

[ Cow moos ]

Exactly.

Keep that in mind.
Fair enough?

I feel
how that guy feels.

That's a girl.

That's good, bud.

I'm going to go up on the roof
right now

And make sure that
this metal is secure.

Steve says that when it blows,

This whole edge
of the roof lifts up.

He's lucky it hasn't
all blown off,

Even though we are missing
a few pieces.

The wood
is in amazing shape.

Thank god.

In this entire valley, there's
not one good solid barn

Because of the high winds.

I want the barn on this
homestead to live on

For generations to come.

Why? Because barns are the heart
and soul of a homestead.

Nothing says
homestead like a barn.

♪♪

Narrator: as a new day dawns...

Matt: I made
a little sh**ting range.

...matt teaches mick and ally

An important homesteading lesson
in handling firearms.

You got your p*stol
in your hand.

Mm-hmm.

Now what I have in my hand,
this is a .22 r*fle.

It's got a scope on it.

You can use this
for hunting.

Pretty much all of your
predator animals or prey

That live up here
in these mountains

Can be harvested
with this g*n.

But before we use this,
I want you to fire the g*n

You're most comfortable with,
okay?

When you're on a homestead,

You're going to have
a lot of tools, shovels, rakes,

Picks, bars,
chain saws, and firearms,

And a firearm is probably,
you know,

One of your most useful tools.

You could feed your family.

You could protect
your livestock.

Okay.
Are you ready?

Okay.

Firing.

[ g*nsh*t ]

Alright.
I shot this g*n.

Mick has experience
with firearms,

But she hasn't been practicing.

It's fell by the wayside,
and I wanted her

To be able to ward off predators
on her own property

And get those skills honed.

I think getting her comfortable
with the .22 r*fle

Will help her
defend her homestead.

It's important for her
to have experience

With a variety of firearms

So she can pick
the right tool for the job.

-Okay.
-Yep, there you go.

Now the safety is off,
everybody.

She's got one
in the chamber.

Firing.

[ g*nsh*t ]

Alright.
Load another one.

Load another one.

Firing.

[ g*nsh*t ]

Alright.
One more round.

Do one more.

Okay.

Okay, firing.

[ g*nsh*t ]

I haven't handled a g*n
in many years, probably,

Like, 5 or 6 years.

I've learned so much in just
this matter of a couple of days

That I haven't ever utilized
that I really needed

To learn the skills
for in order to be here.

What happened here?

Oh, my god! [ Laughs ]

I feel comfortable
with the .22 r*fle

Because I feel like it's more
practical on the homestead.

It's what would make sense
for me to use

For warding off predators,
easier to sh**t,

So I was excited to learn
to use the .22.

I can't believe you got
a bull's-eye.

That's awesome.

What do you think
of your mom?

I'm... [ Laughs ]
you're speechless.

You're totally speechless.

♪♪

Narrator: coming up...

Four birds of prey, and they're
looking for those chickens

That are put over
in that trailer temporarily

Until that coop is finished.

Had we not come here,

Those seven chickens
would be gone, maybe, today.

♪♪

Narrator: in the heart
of tennessee,

The raneys are fighting

To save
a wind-ravaged homestead.

Okay, firing.

Matt is teaching
mick off-grid skills,

And misty is racing to complete
a predator-

And windproof fortress

For the homestead's
surviving chickens.

At the barn...

Misty: so do we like where
this window is at?

The chicken coop is evolving.

This is a 10x16 structure.

People in alaska
live in cabins this size.

I'm thinking for steve
and mick's future,

They can have as many birds as
they possibly could ever want.

It smells so good in here.

I know.

Chickens will share
nesting boxes,

So we don't need
to build a ton.

Keep going.

There you go.
Okay.

I think a lot of women
are like mick,

Where they have no idea
what they're capable of.

As soon as you tell her
something to do,

She does it perfectly.

She's doing it right now.

What an asset she could be
on the homestead.

Okay.
Whoo, so pretty.

Free farm fresh eggs,
please!

Narrator: at the pond...

So I've seen a lot of ponds,
and it's hard to cure algae.

It's really hard to get rid
of it,

But have you ever tried,
you know, buckets of catfish?

No.
See these guys?

We got a lot of catfish
in three different buckets.

We're going to dump them
in here,

And they're going to do
something naturally

To this pond --

Providing oxygen

And basically
bringing something good

To a pond filled
with algae.

Awesome.
Let's do it.

Okay,
we got fish out there.

How about some more?

So a protein source,
maybe a pond fix,

Certainly going to help it.
Absolutely.

They eat everything,
and they grow quickly.

Thanks, bud.
It came down to the catfish.

That's it.
We'll see what happens.

♪♪

[ Bird caws ]

♪♪

Narrator: at the chicken coop,

Misty begins construction
on the roof.

I'm going to cut some metal,
slap it up.

The building is
pretty much done,

And then we're going to
work on the chicken run.

We're almost there.

♪♪

Okay, you can move
your left hand.

This process has been
remarkable in many ways,

But seeing our family
come together,

Having confidence and the desire
to do things and learn more...

Real slow, real slow.

We're doing projects
now together,

And it's really just unifying.

I mean, I'm absolutely just
in awe of what this has done.

This whole process has just
really brought us

Closer together.

Nice.

Nice.

I'm feeling
more comfortable.

Yeah? [ Laughs ]
yeah.

Four birds of prey, and they're
looking for those chickens

That are put over
in that trailer temporarily

Until that coop
is finished.

Had we not come here,

Those seven chickens
would be gone, maybe, today.

♪♪

Matt: we're going to walk
the perimeter.

Narrator:
across the homestead...

And I know your animals
are getting out somewhere.

Yes.
It's just where, right?

...matt teaches mick

How to fix the property's
wind-damaged fence line.

Basically, you pull up,
for sure,

But really,
you throw the saw down.

Okay.
Because the saw is heavy, right?

It wants to go down.

It's gravity.

♪♪

I mean, all the projects
getting done, that's great.

But teaching mick
about homesteading,

That's really
what this is all about.

Yeah.

There's a ton of fencing
down here below.

It's all around trees.

Mick: yeah.
So this is just another chore.

Bend it around.

Give it a twist.

Call it good.

So grab that chain saw.

We got a big problem
right here.

Mick: it's pretty eye-opening
to see the fence,

Especially
when we have the winds.

I didn't really think about
how limbs and trees fall down

Over here, you know,
near the fence line

And that that needs
to be watched

So that the animals
don't get out.

Alright.
Stop.

Matt: showing mick how to do
this is going to be huge.

I want her to be able to really
own this homestead,

You know,
have real ownership.

I didn't say it was going
to be easy, did i?

[ Laughs ]

♪♪

Narrator:
later that afternoon...

-Where?
-Right there, about 4 feet over.

...matt and marty have a plan

To help wrangle
the family's cattle.

Got your tape measure?
Make it 4 feet across, please.

Marty: this family is trying to
generate income by selling cows

But have never yet successfully
loaded a cow from this property.

Square it up, please.

Narrator: in order to get
the homestead

On its feet financially,

Marty and matt will repurpose
lumber from the property

And construct a 15-foot
long wooden chute

Where cattle can be funneled,

Loaded into a trailer,
and taken to be sold.

The chute's width will
gradually narrow

Down from 6 feet wide to 3,

Allowing only one cow
at a time to pass through.

Moo, I'm a cow.

I come out of here.
What?

I only have so many places
to go,

And we got a sturdy fence
on both sides.

Matt: so the last thing
I have to do

Is build up walls on both sides

And continue
our chute out here,

And then, this thing
is ready for cows.

Narrator: coming up,

Matt and marty race
to finish the cattle chute.

Marty: it's tough to dig a hole
in tennessee.

-And later...
-Get ready for that gate, matt.

Matt, get ready for that gate.
Slide it.

♪♪

Narrator: seven days ago,
the raneys arrived in tennessee

To find the ruders' homestead
on the verge of failure.

That could k*ll somebody.

Gale-force winds were destroying
their structures.

Aerial predators decimated
their brood of chickens,

And mick lacked any usable
homesteading skills.

I would like to get to where
I can do this myself.

Now the homestead is on
the cusp of being windproof,

And mick is flourishing as a
jill-of-all-trades.

Got it?
Keep going.

Misty: mick is probably, like,


But don't be fooled
by her size

Because she's actually
pretty strong, very capable.

These aren't easy cuts.

I'm pretty impressed with her.

She's got a lot to offer.

Mick: in just a few days,
I've learned so much

That I really needed to learn
in order to be here.

Whoo-hoo!

Yeah!

I feel like so much progress
has happened,

And I'm really excited.

So you're officially making
firewood, which is amazing!

Good job!

Narrator:
later that morning...

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Freedom.

Going to go to
a pretty new house.

...mick and ally retrieve
the property's chickens

And take them
to their new permanent home.

Misty: chickens!

There's a reason why this
chicken coop is so big.

It's not just for
their seven chickens.

I have a little surprise
for them.

I want to give back some of
what they lost, so enter matt.

I think that's good.
-That's great.

Look at these beauties.

We got 18 chickens that we can
contribute to the homestead

And start, you know,
bringing life back here

Because they have had
a lot of loss.

-Yay!
-29 Chickens.



I think that's great.

Narrator: a week ago,
the homestead's chickens

Lived in a wind-ravaged coop
susceptible

To aerial predators.

Now they're sheltered from wind
in a cedar-lined fortress

On the leeward side of the barn,

And an enclosed chicken
run protects them

From predators
all for just $300.

Steve:
this is not just a protein
and a food source for us.

This can also be something
that helps generate income.

Nice.

Narrator: at the barn,
marty and matt

Put the finishing touch
on the cattle chute,

Making it windproof
by reinforcing the side walls

With sturdy cedar posts.

Marty: it's tough to dig a hole
in tennessee,

So if you have an excavator,
take a railroad tie,

Take a spruce log, whatever.

Take a chain saw and put a point
on it like this

Because it's like an arrow.

You'll be amazed how far
in the ground you can go.

All said and done,
that was less than a minute,

And it's in there.

That's in there hard-core.

Boom.

Narrator: all that's left...

Marty: [ whistles ]

...is a test run.

This family has never yet
successfully loaded a cow

And hauled it away
from this property.

You ever heard that expression
"until the cows come home"?

Well, today is all about
getting a cow to leave home.

Sooey!

[ Cow moos ]

Narrator: if it works, the chute
will give the ruders

The ability to load beef cows
for transport to market,

Securing a vital revenue
stream for the homestead.

Dolly, go.

♪♪

Great, she sees it.

She's going.

Marty: these things weigh more
than we do,

And they're pretty stubborn,
and they're pretty powerful.

Trust me.

First foot
is in the trailer.

Second foot
is in the trailer.

Get ready for that gate, matt
matt, get ready for the gate.

Gate, gate, gate.
Slide it. Slide it. Slide it.

Slide it!
Whoo!

Yee-haw!
-That's it, man.

-That's how it's done!
-Whoo!

Oh, yeah.

Steve: we now can load, safely,
cattle.

Take it to market.

Take it to the butcher.

This is a substantial
amount of money.

Narrator: seven days ago,
the ruder homestead

Was twisting
in the wind.

Now every structure
on the property,

From the livestock
barn to the pond,

Has been strengthened to
withstand deadly air currents,

Creating an opportunity

For a burgeoning off-grid
cattle business

All for only $850.

I've seen you totally grow
and become more homesteaders

Than you were before.

I mean, you were into this
lifestyle, and you lived here,

But now you guys are definitely
turned into homesteaders,

And it's really cool
to see that.

Thank you so much for
everything, really, honestly.

I've learned so much
from each one of you,

And I feel like
I have skills beyond

What I ever thought
that I would.

We built some stuff
to move cattle, chickens.

You know,
projects are great,

But the thing is,
is we wouldn't have got anywhere

Unless mick was
so willing to learn.

Mm-hmm.
I mean, she wanted to know.

Misty: it was totally a pleasure
working with you, mick.

I'm so excited
that you have chickens,

A lot of chickens now,
and they like you.

Yes.

And they're all going to live,
all of them.

Marty: it was a lot of fun,
and this is good-bye.

-Yeah.
-Good-bye, honey.

-Bye.
-See you again.

Matt: do the old one-arm hug.

[ Laughter ]

Marty: as the sun sets here,
we brought them to a point

Right now where all of the wind
damage has been repaired.

We restored the pond.

They've got a brand-new
chicken coop.

They can load cattle and haul
them out here and get some cash.

This family is set
for generations to come.

♪♪

Steve: another windy day.

The pond is still clear.

The cows personally thank

Marty for clearing up
their drinking hole.

We're finally using
the run-in shed again.

Mick: the chickens love
their new home.

We have had zero problems with
any predators on the property,

And, I mean, look at this.

It's a fortress.
They love it.

Steve: the cattle chute has been
a tremendous success.

We have sold two cows.

I feel so much more confident to
be the leader of the homestead.

Steve: thank you, raneys.