All language subtitles for Homestead.Rescue.S07E01.Home.Sweet.Homestead.Safer.at.Home-stead.iNTERNAL.WEB.h264-ROBOTS_Subtitles01.ENG

Marty: It's a real privilege

to be able to get
this close to animals.

The key is just leave them
alone, they begin to trust you.

Winter was fairly harsh.
Lots of deep snow.

Some cold snaps,
brutal winter.

This is a well-deserved rest.
It's all about survival.

And those things know
how to do it right.

-Here we go.
-It's not as easy as it looks.

Okay, this is my cellphone.

Homestead is where the heart is.

We're on the 40.

What's a quarantine
on a homestead?

We've been on our 40-acre
homestead

in hatcher pass, alaska.
-Okay. Social distance?

I'm out here in
the middle of nowhere.

I don't see anybody anyways.

Narrator: The freedom
of a self-sufficient lifestyle

has never been
more valuable than today,

but only if you put in the work.

Marty: That's it. That's it.
Oh, my gosh!

Narrator:
Now, for the first time ever,

the raneys open up
their homestead...

We're documenting
everything ourselves.

Narrator:
...For an exclusive self-shot
glimpse at their way of life...

Watch out.

...In the remote alaskan
wilderness.

Look at the size
of these tracks.

We are taking full advantage
of this quarantine.

Narrator:
As they push forward
on their own dream,

we reflect on some of
the biggest challenges

they faced keeping
other homesteaders' hopes alive.

Now it's officially
a homestead.

Plus, the raneys check in
with some of the families

that have taken their lessons
and thrived.

Misty:
How is it going?

Trust me, you have done so much
getting us moving forward.

I got to get back to it.
I got to go back to work. Bye.

Stay tuned.

-- Captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

captions paid for by
discovery communications

all right,
little darlin'.

♪♪

narrator:
It's nearing the end of a long
and unforgiving winter

in hatcher pass, alaska.

As temperatures dip below
freezing, the raney family --

marty and his wife, mollee,
their daughter misty...

Yeah.

...Her husband, maciah...

Maciah's better
looking than me.

...Their son gauge...

[ barnyard sounds ]

narrator:
...And marty's dog, little
sue...

Marty:
You having a good day?

...Settle in on their
40-acre homestead.

But this year, it's not
the weather locking them down.

-So I have a question for you.
-What?

Marty: How come your cousins
can't come here?

Because the coronavirus,
covid-19.

On the 40 here in alaska,

we've taken it very serious,
but has it affected us like it

has the masses of people
that live in the city?

No.
The benefits of this lifestyle

just mean more
and more to me and this family.

All right.
Cold out here. Really cold.

Narrator: The raneys' refuge
from civilization

is 40 acres at the base
of the talkeetna mountain range.

Hatcher pass.

Homestead's right there.

Come down on that ridge.
Boom.

Narrator:
Lifelong homesteaders, this year
will mark the raneys' first

full winter on this property.
From December to March,

this rugged landscape
consistently delivers

subzero temperatures.
-It was 10 degrees this morning.

This past winter was
particularly cold every day.

Colder, colder, and colder.
At least a month below zero.

Narrator:
And nearly 10 feet
of annual snowfall.

Marty: See that? Still snowing
every day. Kind of crazy.

There must be 4,
4 or 5 feet of snow

narrator: With miles of
pristine wilderness

surrounding the property,

the family has yet to explore
all of the winding rivers

and snow capped peaks
that define the territory.

The wildlife is diverse
and deadly.

Packs of gray wolves and
900-pound bears

stalk a rich diet of caribou
dall sheep, and moose.

One of my favorite things to do
is after a fresh snow

is to just walk
right by the cabin

just so I can track the animals
and see who's hanging out.

Coyote, where's the ermine?

Where's the wolves, have they
passed through?

They're all walking through
after every fresh snow.

It's cool.

Animals on the prowl.

I was skiing, and I came across
a freshly killed moose.

I have no idea
what took it down.

No more than 10 minutes walk
from the back door.

Coming across the sign of a big
game animal

like a moose being killed is
something you pay attention to.

I've been roaming around alaska
for a long time,

over 45 years, I think.
But we've been here two winters,

and we're getting more
and more familiar.

So before we bring
livestock animals

and bring other
family members over,

make it safe enough
for grandkids, etc.,

I want to know how serious the
predator threat is.

Let's go, sue.
Come on.

Narrator:
Keeping predators at bay
is typically a family affair.

But at the moment,

a key member of the raney clan
is far from home.

Emergency trip to the airport
during the pandemic.

Narrator:
Matt and wife kate with son

indy make an unexpected trip
to care for katie's parents.

Just like that, we're in hawaii

where we are quarantining
at a neighbor's house.

We're going to do some projects
for her

because that's just
the right thing to do.

Narrator: But before he can even
get started,

matt gets an urgent call
from a familiar face back home.

Listen, matt, everything
about this 40 acres

is a challenge.
There's definitely hunting.

Killing, full-on activity.
I saw a moose kill

60, 70 yards from the cabin.

I'm not really worried about you
walking around in the woods,

maybe mom, you know,
or misty and her kid.

Well, where there's moose,
there's wolves.

Where there's moose,
there's bears.

The amount of activity
in that one location,

that really has my,
you know, my attention.

-It's a hot spot for sure.
-I just think it's cool

to maybe just check that place
out.

I think I have
a half a dozen game cameras.

We're gonna have to have
a pretty good idea

their patterns,
their travel, their circuit.

You can't make it easy for these
animals to come in there

and turn our little homestead
into the drive thru,

and you guys are
just part of that stop.

You're right,
100% right.

Okay, I got to go.
I gotta get to work.

All right, bud.
-All right. Bye-bye.

I'm trying to figure out
who's out here

and the familiarity
those animals have

with our 40 acres.
Game cameras will tell me

how many of these predators
are roaming around,

how close these predators
are coming to that cabin.

Narrator:
As a seasoned homesteader,

this is not the first time
marty will deploy trail cams

gathering information
on a predator threat.

In 2017, the johnson family
desperately needs help

determining exactly what's
surrounding their arizona ranch,

terrorizing their livestock
and stalking their pets.

Marty: You have a wolf
problem here.

We had three dogs
and we're pretty sure

they're the culprits
that ate them,

all we found was the head
of one dog

with about three inches
of spine sticking out.

-They ate your dogs.
-Yeah.

[ coyote howling ]

-matt, matt, matt.
-That's...

-Coyote.
-...Coyote.

Marty:
Coyote right there.

Usually the dogs used
to chase him out, bam!

My mastiff would be gnawing
on a coyote head.

And the pitbull would like to
gnaw on the legs.

That mastiff and that pitbull
actually kill the coyotes?

They kill them and bring
them on to our porch.

I've been here
for a half an hour.

Dogs being killed by wolves,

two coyotes this close
to their house.

[ heavy sigh ] we've got
our work cut out for us.

[ coyote howling ]

narrator:
With trail cam in place
around the johnson homestead,

the raneys take them
on a predator stakeout.

[ wolf howling ]

that's a wolf.

[ howling ]

♪♪

[ dog barking ]

quite frankly, I'm asking
myself,

"are their dogs still alive?"

♪♪

narrator:
The next morning, matt checks
his trail cams for new evidence.

These are fresh tracks.

This is not good news.

I think I have some stuff
that you need to see.

I don't even know
how to show you this.

-What the...
-Those are feral dogs.

-No, those aren't our dogs.
-Your dogs could have gone

and ran with these two same dogs
that we're seeing here.

Donna:
It's a large shinsei.

Our dog could have gone
with the feral pack

and it actually gives me
that closure,

and we'll definitely do things
differently here

to have a happy life
on our homestead.

Narrator:
Discovering the feral dogs
gave hope to the johnsons.

But in alaska,

marty is dealing with something
much deadlier and more evasive.

Marty sets off with his family
on a mission

to set trail cameras
around the 40 acres.

Marty: Game cameras will help me
determine what kind of predators

are here
that I need

to protect my livestock
from.

Here in the wild,

you see a track that big,
it's not coyote,

it's not a dog,
it's a wolf.

Look at the size
of these tracks.

Something killed a moose.
Most likely, it's wolves.

So this is a...

Property behind the 40-acre
homestead.

And it goes on forever,
eternal wilderness.

No neighbors, no people.

This is a homestead
where you've got

to take your animals serious

because something
easily could get eaten,

killed, drug off,
disappear, pick one.

Animals are hungry,
winters are tough,

so I anticipate some activity
in the neighborhood.

Stay tuned.

Narrator: Coming up...

Big brown bear
came out of the mountains

kind of towards the wolf kill,

so I got to be real careful
approaching it.

I don't have a gun.
I didn't anticipate this.

Narrator: And later...

Because -- oh, my god.
He doesn't like me.

Narrator: After a long
and challenging winter,

the raney family self-films
their journey as they shelter

in place on their 40-acre
homestead in alaska.

Today, marty's wife, mollee,
gets to work on a routine

alaskan tradition
critical to winter survival.

Mollee: We didn't get to eat it
all so we might as well can it.

And it's a lot of good red
meat, salmon.

-Looks good to me.
-Good stuff.

We also put in pepper.

I kind of sprinkle on
each little piece.

When you can, it doesn't -- you
don't have to add any liquid.

It has its own natural oils.
You do not pack it too tight.

If you do the jar will break.
Lid on it, can it.

How hard is that?

If you're in alaska,
this is normal.

♪♪

narrator: Across the pacific,

matt, his wife, katie, and son
indy

are on the big island of hawaii.

Their goal -- to assist
katie's parents

after they finish
a two-week quarantine.

It's a major adjustment being
isolated from their families.

-Hey, matt.
-Where you at?

-I'm right here.
-It's like...

Hey!
Touch, let's touch.

How's the wife?
-She is good.

We have to stay
at this location for two weeks.

Can't go to the store,
can't do anything.

And I'm going
to help the family.

We're gonna help get projects
done as much as we can.

So I think in some ways,
we are really blessed.

You know, we got all
this room to run around

and projects to do.

We have family.
We have food.

The thing is, is we --
this time is for us,

you know, it's for families.

If you're stuck with your
family,

why not get a bunch
of projects done?

And it's time to really
flex our, you know, our skills.

And there's so much stuff
that has to be done,

it's insane.
-Yeah.

So it's good, you know, we're
here, we're totally healthy.

I really love you.
Air hug.

All right, air hug.

I'm holding my head. Air five.
-Slow dance.

Bye.
-Okay.

Narrator:
Matt's first project on the
neighbor's property --

upgrade a chicken coop.

We got two coops to combine,
and one coop

has to be removed
out of this greenhouse

because look, this is
a really great growing space,

and it doesn't need
a chicken coop in the way.

So here we go, dismantle time.
Chicken coop relocation time.

Go.

We need to make this chicken run

and all of our chicken coops,
mongoose proof.

♪♪

mongoose were introduced
to this island

to combat the rat problems.

They were taken from india
to a vacation to hawaii

where they did nothing
except become...

Oh, oh, my god,
he doesn't like me.

...Become a nuisance.

Somebody didn't get the memo,
one of them is nocturnal,

and the other one
is up during the day,

and they didn't battle at all.

So this whole island,
the big island of hawaii,

is just overrun
with pesky mongoose.

And these mongoose are actually
a threat to the chickens.

Narrator:
Matt's chicken coop should hold
up well against mongooses.

But last year in louisiana,
the raneys help the randles

face a much more menacing
threat -- feral hogs.

I'm afraid
to walk around in the homestead.

Narrator:
First step, matt and misty

surround the randles' crop
and property

with an electric fence
to keep the pigs out.

-Is it tight?
-That's good right there.

Misty: What we're gonna do
is run a single live wire low,

so when they come up here,
they end up sniffing around,

they end up
getting shocked,

and it deters them away
and back into the woods.

Perfect
-turkey. [ gobbling ]

narrator:
To complete the protection,

matt puts the innovative final
touches on a boar trap..

The way this trap works,
we have two entrances.

These wires are holding
both these doors open.

This is a pressure plate.
So I'm a pig, I'm coming in.

[ snorting, sniffing ]

smells good stuff,
and then boom steps on this.

The trap has been set,
free ham for everybody.

[ both laugh ]

bringing home the bacon,
literally. [ laughs ]

they thought of things

that we didn't even know
that we needed.

-You know how to hunt them.
-Yes.

-You know how to harvest them.
-Right.

You can protect
this homestead from pigs,

but also turn all these feral
pigs into this free food source.

Yes. Okay, I'm gonna
set the trap again.

Yeah, let's
set it again.

[ both laugh ]

narrator:
Matt's boar-proof ingenuity
protected the randles

from a dire threat.

Now he hopes to bring
some of that same

alaskan know-how to hawaii.

Here we are.
Chicken coop out.

So one great thing
about this property,

marianne's got this old gate.

I mean, it's like 16-feet long.
It's perfect.

Okay, so this old fence,
that's 1/4 of our fence,

and then over here,
we have the greenhouse.

We're going to use this
whole length of the greenhouse

as our other side.

So we really only have
to construct two other areas

of fencing
to fence in this chicken run.

We'll set these coops
into place,

and then fence it all in,
make it mongoose proof.

♪♪

narrator: Back on the 40...

Marty:
Okay, rolling.

...Marty posts the final trail
cams around the homestead.

This is the hardest
40 acres in alaska.

...But the harsh realities

of the alaskan wilderness
are all around.

This is the first bear tracks
I've seen.

This spring, big brown bear
came out of the mountains,

kind of towards the wolf kill,

so I got to be
real careful approaching it.

I don't have a gun,
I didn't anticipate this.

But the bear came out
of the mountains,

probably right out of the den,

right down through here,
see the tracks.

You see, pan down here, please.

And goes
right on down through there.

Snow actually headed directly
to our house. Stay tuned.

Those game cameras
will tell me

who's who
and who's where.

The livestock
that we bring here,

I need to build shelters,

build fencing
according to the predators

that can threaten the lives
of the livestock.

Narrator: It's late March.

While most of the country
is under safer-at-home orders,

marty is on a mission in the
rugged backcountry of the 40.

His task -- to position trail
cams over a moose carcass

in hopes of determining
what's feeding on it.

Marty: We are, in fact,
quarantined.

I have the time to learn more
about the predators

that we have on this property.

If poop is...

That's about 3/4 of an inch,
poops about that size

or smaller -- coyote.

Bigger, inch or bigger --
wolf,

that big around -- grizzly.

We've got neighbors
and they like to eat meat,

so we've got to
take that into consideration

for everything,
including our dog.

Oh, about two months ago,
while she was in heat,

she was found wandering around
at the bottom of this trail.

We call this the wolf
crossing.

Obviously
she didn't get killed,

but I know she's had
very close wolf encounters.

I truly thought there was
a possibility that sue

was basically pregnant
with a male wolf's puppies.

But we just now took a sigh
of relief, she's not pregnant.

When a malamute comes
in heat up here,

you're a fool to think
that the wolves don't know it.

So I'm hoping these game cams
help us find out

how many wolves there are.
Every game camera in the world

is going to come with this
strap.

First thing you do,
take it off. Get rid of it.

Some people put cameras on
with zip ties, okay.

Baling wire --
the very best thing.

Easiest, quickest, fastest way
to mount a camera.

This is just on the end
of a branch, right.

So the wire is acting as
stabilization in that position.

What do I want to see
on those cameras?

Obviously, I want to see
whatever killed that moose.

If it is wolves,

it's the smartest animal
in the woods.

And that said, there's my human
scent that's been up there,

there's a camera,
which is not natural.

And this very smart animal

might take a few whiffs and not
come back to that moose kill.

And when I decide to go back
and pull those game cameras,

it's gonna be pretty exciting.

That's rigid.
It's there. It's on.

We'll see what comes in
to the scene of the crime.

Narrator:
The predators that marty

captures on camera
should be no surprise.

But four years ago,
the raneys faced an intruder

on the crownovers' homestead

in northern arizona
that no one expected.

Having a cow as a predator
on this homestead is a first.

So the cattle are
creating holes in the fences,

stealing grain
and alfalfa.

And then the goats and chickens
get out of the fences

and coyotes can kill them.
-Absolutely.

Narrator:
Marty proposes one of his
most ambitious solutions ever,

upcycling materials
they have on hand.

Straight back.

Marty: We're going to make your
homestead a fortress.

40 foot by 7 1/2 foot wide
conexes --

instant solution.
Misty! How's it look?

I think it's good.

Marty: There's your first hole,
what do you think?

It's no longer a conex,

it's the beginning of a barn.

Narrator:
Inside fort conex,
secure feeding bays

are being built
for the crownovers' goat herd.

Drop the hay down.
And now the...

[ braying ]

the food's protected
from the weather.

Danielle's protected
from the weather,

my hay is protected from
the weather and the cows.

This is just brilliant.
Is that some good alfalfa?

It's not ba-a-a-ad.

Wow.

Narrator:
Unfortunately, most homesteads

don't have access
to such extreme resources.

So down in hawaii, matt,
upcycles,

more modest materials
to complete a new enclosure

to protect
the neighbor's chickens.

Whoa. Don't take
out the greenhouse.

Don't take out
the greenhouse, matt.

I feel like I talk to myself
a lot when I work by myself.

That's normal.

Okay, here we go.

Okay. All right, we'll get it
raised off the ground

and then we'll work on coop
number two.

These chickens are
about to go for a crazy ride.

I hope they laid their eggs
already because if not...

♪♪

all right.
Smooth sailing so far.

Lose any chickens yet?

Those chickens look happy.
-They're loving the ride.

Come here.
Come look.

Marianne: They're just hunkered
down, girls.

Hi, girls.
-They look happy to me.

That was easy.
I do all that grunting,

it's just something
I got from my dad.

You know, even if it's not --
even if it's easy,

you got to always make it
sound like it's really hard.

Either that, or I just slipped
a disc in my back.

I don't know, one or the other.

Narrator: Coming up...

Set trail cams
on that moose kill.

You might want to sit --
brace yourself.

I think the footage is going
to surprise you.

Son.
-That's insane!

Oh, no,
I'm not done.

♪♪

narrator: While self-filming on
his 40-acre homestead,

marty discovers a moose carcass
dangerously close to his cabin.

He set trail cams but now
attempts an ingenious plan

to draw them to the kill.

[ howling ]

[ howling ]

marty: This is a machine

that has just about every animal
sound you can think of.

From a coyote to a wolf.

In the wolf world,
they're very territorial.

[ howling ]

and so I push the button
where it was a lone wolf howl.

[ howling ]

in other words,
to the wolves that live here,

a new kid in town howl?

To simulate that a lone wolf
entered into that territory,

in fact, might even be eating
on their moose kill,

would definitely get
their attention.

[ howling ]

a wolf in this kind of country
can hear 10, maybe 15 miles.

I would bet a million dollars
that those wolves heard that.

♪♪

it's not likely that wolves
would answer back that call.

What is likely is they'll head
this direction.

I know guides that were flying
into their camps and spotted

a wolf pack
like 15, 20 miles away.

They got to the camp,
used this very system --

the one in my hand was the one
that was used, and the next day,

that wolf pack was about a mile
away. Came that far.

So if that comes
to light or fruition,

we'll get a wolf on a camera.

Narrator:
Marty hopes attracting hungry
predators back to the kill

will allow him
to capture footage

that informs his next move,

but for the rudulphs
in willow springs, missouri,

attracting the dangerous bears
that probed their cabin

is the last thing they wanted.

Matt:
You have a bear on the
homestead?

Cheyanne: Yes.

Ooh, okay.
Those are huge claw marks.

I mean, look at that.
That's insane.

I was sleeping and I woke up
to hearing the scratches.

All it takes is just one
motivated bear

that's really hungry,
and they're going to have a bear

inside the house
where they sleep.

Narrator:
Misty installs a homestead
predator alarm system.

Misty: We're going to build
a guinea fowl treehouse.

Okay, how does it look?
-Pretty good so far.

This is your first livestock
you've ever had,

right?
-Yes.

The most ferocious bird
you can have.

-Whoo-hoo!
-High five?

-Yes.
-Sweet

thank you for your help.

Thank you for making sure
that we are protected here.

I'm really excited that me
and richard

are going to be safe.
It's not going to be,

"are you terrified
every single day?"

everything's just gonna be fine.
You don't have to worry about

what's going to attack you
because nothing can anymore.

Narrator:
Leaving homestead's prepared
for anything

that might threaten them

is a practice matt
is well versed in.

In hawaii...

All right.

...He and his wife katie
continue to upgrade

and secure a chicken coop
for his neighbor.

Chicken ladder.

Because the chickens are fat,
and they can't fly very well,

so they have to hop their fat
little bodies up the ladder

to get in their houses.
There's a hawk.

Matt.
Oh, my god.

There are native
hawaiian hawks here.

They're called io.
That's I-o.

And they will eat
the chickens.

So this hawk is up here
to make the other hawks think

that they don't want to mess --
this like a big guy.

They're like, "oh, no.
Someone's already here.

I'm not going to come
mess with those chickens."

♪♪

they just saw the hawk.

Our hawaiian hawk
homestead hack.

So we were able to upcycle
stuff from the other coops.

We were able to up cycle some
stuff

just leftover from greenhouse.

And then with our little hacks,
I'm able to put it all together.

So this is truly a quarantine,

we didn't have to go the store
project, to pay marianne back

for her kindness and generosity

for giving us a place to
quarantine.

Marianne:
The girls are happy,

happy, happy, laying eggs,
doing their thing.

I'm so happy. Thank you, matt,
for all you did for me.

And in a day's time, basically,
changed this all around

and gave free range to
these girls and brings me eggs.

Thank you. Appreciate it.
Aloha.

♪♪

narrator: Back on the 40...

Marty: After pulling the cards
out of the game cameras,

it's time to look at all this
footage and gather some intel.

Narrator:
Armed with new information,

marty enlists matt
to develop a plan.

-Matt, are you out there?
-Hey, hey, yeah.

Here I am.
How you doing?

I set trail cams
on that moose kill.

And I've been tracking
the wolves, particularly.

And they're definitely
residents. They live here.

I mean, that's a -- it's
a serious predator.

It's not a serious predator,
it's the most serious predator.

I think the footage
is going to surprise you.

You might want to sit --
brace yourself.

Narrator: Coming up,
the raneys check in

with rescued homesteader,
shelley plumb,

the ice just kept growing
and growing and growing.

It actually completely
encompassed the whole bridge.

I instantly jumped in to,
like, save-the-bridge mode.

Oh, okay.

Hey, I'm in alaska on our
homestead

answering viewer questions.

This one is -- "I've got
some extra time on my hands,

how do I predator proof my
garden?

Depending on what kind of animal
you're trying to keep out,

you've got the high jumpers --
the deer, the moose,

get your fence high.

If you've got the animals
that are trying to dig down,

you're actually going to want
to run your fencing underground

a little bit, a foot down,
run it out and then backfill,

and that'll prevent anything
from digging down,

under and in.
And then if you've got

those bigger animals
like we have bear,

we visited homesteads
that have free range cattle,

you are going to want
to create a life fence,

which is simple as getting
a solar powered box

and running electric line
around the perimeter

so that when an animal
comes to eat your garden,

they get zapped.
They get shocked.

They remember that.

Animals are smart
and they stay away.

So depending on what predator
you're dealing with,

those are my tips.

♪♪

I set trail cams
on that moose kill,

and I've been tracking
the wolves, particularly,

and they're definitely
residents.

They live here.

I mean, that's a --
it's a serious predator.

I think the footage
is going to surprise you.

You might want to sit --
brace yourself.

We caught the gray wolf
on the game camera

coming in
on the moose kill.

Marty: So a black and a gray,
most likely a male and a female.

I'm confident
this is a breeding pair.

And you know what that means,

the pack is growing.

Man, that's insane.

Oh, no, I'm not done.

Multiple lynx came in
on the wolf kill.

And ermine -- and ermine that
will kill chickens faster

than grant took richmond.

Multiple coyote -- multiple
coyote on the game cameras.

Birds of prey,
namely owls.

Well, the thought of a wolf pack
on your property, it's cool,

don't get me wrong, but we
definitely have to be smart

with everything that we build

and all the livestock
that we bring on the property.

We're going to just really have
to outsmart

the smartest predator

that's on this planet
with everything that we build

and all the decisions
that we make on this homestead.

I think it'd be amazing
if we could do a little --

let's look for the den.
That could be

a great little expedition,
what do you think?

-There could be a den close by.
-And we're doing it.

[ chuckles ]
that's awesome.

Well, heck, I want to do
the same.

Talking with my dad, it sounds
like my number one priority

when I get back to alaska
is to see, find,

locate a potential wolf den
on the property.

Narrator:
Over the past four years,

the raneys have rescued
dozens of homesteads

on the brink of disaster,

but the global pandemic
has proven one thing --

that a self-sufficient lifestyle
is more valuable now

than ever before.

Now the raneys check in
with homesteaders

to see how they've thrived
since their rescue

and throughout the crisis.

♪♪

matt:
I think a lot of the projects
that we did for shelly,

we need to do
on our own property,

you know, high fences around
the greenhouse, the sort of post

and beam structure that can
really withstand the winters

and the heavy snow loads.

-I got a bridge. I got a bridge.
-I know that she had

a crazy winter,
just like we did.

And it'd be really interesting
to check in

and just see what worked,
what didn't work, you know,

really how
we've helped them.

Narrator: As an alaska native,

shelley plumb is all too
familiar

with the dangers present
throughout the region.

One year ago, the raneys
rescued her homestead

where aggressive animals
threatened her dogs

and destroyed her attempts
at self-sufficiency.

Misty: There is a ton of
wildlife here,

and as soon as you start
planting a garden,

the amount of animals
is going to double.

You're not planting food,
you're planting bait.

So it has to be protected.

-Thank you for doing that.
-Now the raneys check in

to get an update
on shelley's homestead.

How's it going?

Hey, it's going good.
How are you?

Hey, I was thinking about you
this -- this winter

because over here at hatcher,
we got about 4 feet of snow

and a really long cold snap.
And I know where you live,

it's colder and deeper.
How was your winter?

Yeah, it was a winter.

The coldest it got
was negative 42,

and the garden fence
that you guys put in,

I was thinking it was
like 8, 9-feet tall,

the snow was to the top pole.

Last time we were there,

you definitely had
a moose problem.

I mean, moose,
were they just walking in

and out of that green house
enclosure, like over the fence?

I mean, how high --
the snow was so high,

it's like anything could get
in there during the winter.

Shelley:
The moose could not walk
in the snow.

There was no way they would
be able to jump that fence.

There is no way no moose
are going to get in there.

It is tight, it's solid.

I mean,
the fence is still intact,

survived the winter
and the greenhouse is protected?

Yup, it's all good.

I got to tell you, the bridge,
I was a little scared,

so the ice just kept growing
and growing and growing.

It actually completely
encompassed the whole bridge.

Everything was in ice,
like a big glacier.

I instantly jumped in to, like,
save-the-bridge mode.

And I grabbed a shovel and an ax

and I
started chopping at that ice.

Whoa, okay.
So I just saved my bridge.

Holy crap. I didn't turn
my phone on and I should've.

This all just broke just now.
Oh, my heart's beating.

So this whole edge right here
was being pulled down

by the ice, and I've been
chopping away at it,

as you can see.

And it finally just let go,
and the glacier fell.

God, thank goodness the pressure
is off. Whoo!

But it's still there,
and I think it's doing fine.

Right now is such a great
opportunity

to get projects done,

especially in alaska.
And if you're already set up,

you know, you're already
homesteading,

it's an exciting time.

I really appreciate this update
this morning.

I'm -- I'm really inspired to go
the rest of this day working,

knowing that you're --
oh, gosh,

40, 50 miles away
on your own homestead,

surviving and thriving.

-Thank you.
-You're inspirational.

I love it.
-Thank you.

-Bye bye.
-See you, guys.

♪♪

narrator: Next time...

One of the coldest
winters on record.

Our water system froze up.
A 700-foot trench,

4 or 5 or 6-feet deep
is a daunting task.

Mollee: Ice, oh, no!

Now we're hauling that water...

There's like
a little slant,

and it just went off.