Original subtitles

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.