All language subtitles for Homestead.Rescue.S12E02.1080p.WEB.h264-FREQUENCY[EZTVx.to]_[English] (SUBRIP)

[birds chirping]

Nosing around here
looking for water.

I discovered something
quite unusual.

A graveyard.

This gravestone reads 1880.

Until now, no one has lived
here for 100 years.

Question is...

Why?

[Marty] When we think
about homesteading,

you want those basics.

Food.

Extremely bleak.

My tomatoes are rotten
when they were still green.

[Marty] Shelter.

[Matt] Everything
fell on its face.

[Marty] And water.

All of a sudden it
just stopped flowing.

We're not doing too good
on any of those.

There's something very
mysterious on the sunset.

I don't see where the answers
are going to come from.

We just have to try.

[Matt] Get a good run.

Perfect.

[Marty] No one's
gonna believe this.

If we don't solve the mystery,

we will leave this homestead
completely dead.

[narrator]
Marty Raney, master builder
and stonemasons.

[Marty]
I don't see problems
on homesteads,

I see challenges.

[narrator]
Daughter, Misty, garden and
food preservation expert.

[Misty] I believe you can
grow food anywhere.

[narrator] And son Matt,

skilled craftsman and
predator protection.

[Matt]
Wildlife is a constant threat,

but I draw the line
between their home

and your homestead.

[narrator] Together, they use
Alaskan knowhow...

-Let's find some power.
-Yeah.

[narrator]
...and ingenuity.

That's perfect.

[laughs]

[narrator]
...to save the off grid dream

of desperate homesteaders.

[Marty]
We work every second we can,

trying to help
complete strangers.

That's who we are.

[opening theme music playing]

[Marty] Welcome to
Virginia, kids.

The beginning of America.

Because a 100 miles from here.

1607, a 104 men
and boys, landed.

They drove a stake
in the ground,

and they called it
Jamestown Bank.

[Matt] Pretty cool.

[Misty] This is where
it all started.

[Marty] I mean, you want
to talk about homesteading?

That's what those early
settlers had to do here.

Virginia's got hot summers,

and it's a place, if you know
what you're doing,

you can succeed.

It's nice now, but winter
is right around the corner.

[narrator] In the wilds of
Central Virginia.

The Raney's are a stone's
throw from where the first
English settlers

carved a life out of
untamed wilderness.

By using flora and fauna
to their full advantage.

But frigid winters,
scorching hot summers,

and unpredictable
growing conditions

have proven to be a
worthy challenge

for many who followed.

Now, four centuries later,

a family of first
time homesteaders

are in over their heads
on this very land.

Struggling on a problem
plagued property

with ghosts of
homesteaders past.

I'm Kathy.

I'm Danny.

And this is our little...

-[both] Patch of dirt.
-[Kathy chuckles]

in Central Virginia.

[Danny] We have
6.75 acres here,

and there's nothing around us.

[Kathy] The county was
settled in like 1749.

Knowing that there's been
people living out here for
a long time.

You want to find
out the history.

[narrator] After moving on to
the property from the
Virginia suburbs in 2022,

a series of strange
developments,

has Danny and Kathy's
off grid dream

on the brink of being
a failed footnote

in this homestead's history.

[Kathy] Two years ago,
he found the spring,

and we developed that,
and we had great water,

until about three months ago,
and then it just...

went away.

Not having
water is devastating.

We're running to town
and buying bottled water

every few days, and that can
get very expensive.

And we can't source
our own meat

because we don't have
the ability to hunt.

And what I'm doing with
the garden isn't working,

so we don't have our own food.

Last summer, our garden
was immensely successful.

But this year was
just a disaster.

We've tilled it,
we've put in garden soil,
you know, fertilized,

but not one plant grew.

[Danny] The power system
is very limited.

We've been running
off solar panels.

Pulling from these five,
and I've got two more
on top of that trailer.

[Kathy] We do pretty well
in the summertime.

But then when
fall comes around,

and we have a lot less sun,
we lose power.

We're literally just surviving
every day and...

How do you fix
all these things

especially when you're not
even sure what's wrong?

[Danny] Y'all need to come
out here and help us.

We need your help bad.

[upbeat music playing]

[Marty] Hello.

We at the right place?

-Yes, sir.
-[Kathy] I think so.

-I'm looking for a man
named Danny.
-That'd be me, sir.

-And?
-I'm Kathy.

-Nice to meet you all.
-Nice to meet you.

And did you build this cabin?

[Kathy] We did.

[Marty] That's pretty cool.

The two of us and Daniel came
out on weekends and helped.

[Danny] From the ground up.

But right now we live
in a camper...

-A camper damper down here.
-Okay.

Until we get
the cabin finished.

[Misty] So, you've been here
for how long?

Two and a half years total.

[Misty]
Two and a half years.

How's it been going?

Well, it's difficult
to say the least.

[Kathy]
We can do construction.

We can do some
mechanical stuff, you know,

working on equipment and such,

but trying to put all
the rest of the puzzle

pieces together to make it,

a full homestead is
where we struggled.

[Kathy] We met
three years ago.

[Danny] Kind of met
through some friends.

We have seven kids total
between the two of us,

from previous marriages.

All of them are grown.

Danny and I are best friends,

we work together
so incredibly well.

[Danny]
The more we started talking
about things we wanted to do,

we realized that our mindsets
were just about identical.

I grew up in Florida,
and I've always lived
in the city.

[Danny] I grew up in
Central Virginia,
close by here.

[Kathy]
We decided we were, you know,
just done with the city

and the rat race,
and we wanted to move out.

[Danny] A friend of mine
that owned
the property said he needed

somebody to come out here and,

you know, be a property
manager for him.

And over time, it just really
grew on us.

[Danny] We lived there for
a little while.

We kind of figured out that,
that's where we want to be at.

Then he asked me,
if I want to buy it,

-and I was like, absolutely.
-Yep.

[Danny] Where I grew up,
I spent most of my time
in the woods and outside

working on projects
with my dad.

So, this just kind of,
was like coming home.

[narrator] But with the recent
unexplained failures

of critical food and
water sources,

Danny and Kathy are at risk
of losing everything.

My vision for being here
is to be self-sustainable,

to be able to grow
our own vegetables

and to have some livestock.

So we're not dependent
on outside resources.

[Danny]
I'll take the struggles
all day long.

But if this whole thing fails,

I can't walk away.

We put everything into this.

They're gonna bury me
in the field up here
somewhere 'cause

I don't plan to put this place
in the rearview if I can...

Any breath in my body,
I'm not gonna let it go
behind me.

[Marty] What am I
looking at here?

[Danny]
This is the hose that I pumped
the water up to the camper.

-[Marty] Okay.
-And the power cord
trails along with it, too.

This is the...

The system that I've kind
of put together.

The water comes out of
the ground right under this.

And when this thing
I first put in.

Crystal clear water used
to come up into that pipe
straight up from the ground.

Does the barrel have
a bottom in it?

It has a,
a metal screen bottom.

That I've got sand and gravel
on there to filter
through the water.

Looks like you did a lot
of work here.

Did you ever test
the recovery?

How much that it would
recovery like,

-pump it out and see
how fast it would be.
-A gallon in half a minute.

That's a lot of water.

[Danny]
Then all of a sudden,
three months ago,

it just stopped flowing.

So I came down and looking,

there was nothing in here.

[exhales]

[Marty] Water is life and
the well is dry.

What made it go dry?

I have no idea.

Did they not have it in
the right spot originally?

Did they not go deep enough?

Is there fracking somewhere?

How about an earthquake?

There could be
a million reasons

why they are without water,

and I need to figure out what
the problem is.

-This is all the housing.
-Yeah.

-And this is the solar?
-Got five down here and
two more up there.

Do you know what the total is
of your wattage?

-I'm pulling 800 watts of
solar power right now.
-Okay.

I have a secondary system
here, I uses backup.

And then you've got this
hooked up to the car.

What's happening here?

I call this the
Chryslerlator.

Usually about 3:00
in the morning,

refrigerator will kick on and
kick the alarm off.

So, I come out here and sit
in this for about two hours

to charge up the system
until daybreak.

Wow, so, it's not so much the
sun as it is this Chrysler.

As of now, yeah,

This Chrysler this,
that's actually the source of
the power for your homestead.

I'm impressed with Danny.

He's smart.

He's resourceful
and he's creative.

However, as creative as he is,

his system is not gonna work
in the new cabin.

We need more power and

we gotta bring...

our homesteader into...

the 21st century.

Last year, we had more
vegetables than we knew
what to do with.

And this year...

They just did not do anything.

My carrots came out this wide
and about that tall.

-[Misty] Like stunted
-They did.

My tomatoes they...

They started rotting when
they were still green.

[Misty] This is insane.

[Kathy] Mmm-hmm.
[Misty] Like this is the
wildest thing I've ever seen.

They would just rot
with big black spots.

Just a pretty bleak harvest.

Extremely bleak.

Yeah, brutal.

[Misty] Farming is alive
and well in this part
of the country.

This is the place where
you should be able
to grow anything,

and the struggle
shouldn't be this hard.

Did you see any
pests or anything?

No.

Did this past summer
seem unusual?

-As far as weather, rainfall?
-No. Mmm-mmm.

How much sun are you
getting a day here?

'Cause you're really close to,
to some very tall trees.

-You're really close
to the tree line.
-Oh!

Summertime, we'll have
12 hours of the sun.

How much, how many hours a day
are you getting right now?

Maybe four, five hours of sun.

-Plants, definitely need
at least six.
-Right.

And then you were watering
this garden how?

With rainwater.

-[Misty] Inconsistent watering
can be super hard on plants.
-[Kathy] Okay.

It's kind of hard
when you see things

like this to pinpoint
the exact reason.

This homestead is an absolute
mystery when it comes
to this garden.

I don't know if
it's the minerals,

the inconsistency
with the watering,

this homesteads maybe been
over farmed because it's got
a lot of history.

We need to figure out
what happened here,

so we can give Kathy
a fighting chance

when it comes to food.

[Matt] Okay, I like this.

We're getting into
the woods now.

This homestead needs
a protein source.

And this area of Virginia.

There's a lot of wildlife that
runs through here and
the forms of deer.

[Daniel] Actually, a couple
hunting stands.

-Oh, yeah?
-They we're already
on the property.

[Matt]
Where are they at?

[Daniel]
I got one right here.

[Matt] Somebody was
hunting here
at some point,

and this seems like
a really good spot.

There's deer everywhere.

This homestead is
teeming with life.

There's tons of deer
coming through.

All Danny and Kathy have to do

is be able to bring in,
you know, three or four
of these things a year,

and that's a realistic way
to put food on the table.

Any hunting in the family?

I have experience but,

my dad or Kathy,
they don't really hunt.

Oh, really?

That's really interesting.

That could maybe set up
the homestead for the future.

This old hunting stand
is a clue,

about how to be successful
hunting on this homestead.

I just see the opportunities,
you know, and then
see if there...

like a legitimate
thing to pursue.

[fly buzzes]

[Marty] They had water and
they don't have it anymore.

That's a mystery.

We're not checking one box
when it comes to homesteading.

And there's something very
mysterious on this homestead,
when it comes to growing food.

I feel like this is the place
where you can grow
anything you want.

And for some reason,
Kathy can't.

The first thing I wanna do
is get a soil test, find out
what the results are.

Also, they're trying
to build the shelter,

but it's far
from being finished.

And these solar panels aren't
enough power to get them
through the night.

So, in the middle
of the night,

he comes out here and
he jumps in the minivan,

and fires it up.

It's kind of crazy.

[Matt] Daniel showed me
an old tree stand,

so somebody used
this place to hunt.

It's hunting season right now,

and I'm gonna show them
how to hunt and put food
on the table.

I like where your head's at
because this homestead
desperately needs food.

But it, it seems
next to impossible,
if there's no water.

There are a lot of questions,

and I don't see where the
answers are going to come from

at all at this point.

[dramatic music playing]

You've got some
challenges here.

Where's that water going?

Right.

It might outsmart both of us.

So, we're gonna start with
some rain catchment.

I appreciate anything
you all can do for us.

I have ideas, but I don't know
how to pull them off and
really set you on your way.

Is hunting something you wanna
do on the property?

I'm very interested...

-[Matt] Okay.
-In doing it.

That's really good.

So, we're hitting the ground
here tomorrow morning.

The same problems
are gonna be here.

We're just gonna have to
work together to try
to solve it.

See you in the morning.

[upbeat music playing]

[Marty] Danny.

[narrator] It's the first full
day of the rescue on the
Judson Guest homestead.

With the dried up spring
proving an uncertain
water source.

Marty's first task is
to utilize Virginia's
high annual rainfall,

for a surefire source of clean
drinking water to their cabin.

[Marty] So, when it comes
to this water mystery...

-First thing that comes
to my mind right now...
-Mmm-hmm.

is what else can we do
to get water?

The wells went dry.

Hauling water to this
homestead is expensive.

We can begin to solve
the problem in a small way.

Why wouldn't we put metal
on this roof and

have it there in case it rains
and we could start
with catchment.

I would love to do that.

Do you have the metal here?

-Yes, sir.
-Where is it?

It's sitting around the side
of the building here.

[Marty]
By putting the metal on,

get in some catchment
containers,

and if it rains, at least,

we're catching water,
while we're trying to solve

the bigger problem of,
no water.

[Marty] What's the length
of this roof?

-[Danny] Fifty two feet.
-[Marty] By?

-Thirteen foot six.
-Thirteen.

-If it rains...
-Mmm-hmm.

one inch on that roof,

you could collect
over 700 gallons.

One inch.

Wow.

Right now, we have no water.

The fact that we can get
the water catchment there,

is a, is a great
thing to have.

[Marty] You got any place
to put that water?

I have one, 300 gallon tank.

How about you get your tools,

I'll get my tools and
meet you out front?

-All right.
-Thank you.

I'm gonna climb up
on the ridge.

What are the advantages
of a metal roof?

Let me count the ways.

Right now, in Virginia,
there's forest fires.

The number one roof
that I'd recommend in
forest fire country...

Another sheet, please.

A metal roof.

What's the best roof
for energy efficiency?

I would recommend
a metal roof.

Sun bakes down and the metal
reflects that heat.

As well as from inside
the house in the wintertime,

that heat gets reflected back
towards the house.

Whoo! Whoo!

And when it comes
to rain catchment.

Boom!

I think it's the cleanest way
to catch water off of a roof,

as opposed to
an asphalt shingle.

It's gonna be a job.

Jack be nimble.

And they're one step closer
to making that cabin a home.

So, win.

Another sheet.

Win.

Done.

Win.

[upbeat music playing]

The real important thing is
to see if this can be
used at all.

[Matt] At some point, somebody
used this to hunt from,

but it's pretty rusted.

That is pretty frayed.

[Daniel] Yeah, I'll go up
right after you go up.

[chuckles]

So...

I think it'd be
cooler to build...

A hunting blind.

Because we're talking about,

starting out somebody
like Kathy.

-She's never hunted before
in her life.
-Okay.

I think we should build
something close to the ground,

something that's way
more functional.

And it's gonna serve
this homestead

-probably a lot better
than this tree stand.
-Yeah.

I think you can do
better than this.

I think we can do a lot
better than this.

Sounds like a good idea.

I'm really excited
to get started.

When I hear and,

and see my dad and Kathy
struggling with food.

I wanna help
with those things.

[Matt] I want to find a good
game trail that leads up to
the edge of the property.

Okay.

This looks good.

There's tracks all over
the place and what
I love about this,

you know, you've got about
20 ft of a nice clearing

that goes all the way
to the edge of the property.

Put us a hunting blind
over there,

and then use this whole area

as like a shooting lane.

[narrator]
To provide an all weather
hunting blind,

Matt and Danny will construct
a 12 by eight foot Hunt hut

perched four feet
off the ground.

Tucked away from
an active game trail.

Open on two sides.

It will provide multiple
shooting angles.

[chainsaw whirring]

[Matt]
We've chosen our place,

to cut out a path and make
a shooting lane.

Now, we've just got to get
chainsaws in our hands
and start cutting.

Felt pretty good to,
to get out there and
get my hands dirty.

Probably took down, uh,
about a 100 trees.

[Matt] Usually when we fell
bigger trees,

we don't just let them stack
up on top of each other.

But because all these trees
are so small,

I can actually bring in some
heavy duty equipment,

to make pushing them
out of the way,

so we can actually see deer
a lot easier.

Between the bucket
and the backhoe.

We have a nice shooting
lane that is ready

for a really cool
hunting blind.

[Misty] You ready
to get wacky?

[Kathy] I am.

[narrator]
On the lower end
of the homestead,

the soil test results are in
from the lab.

Allowing Misty to take
the first step in solving

the unexplained issues
with Kathy's garden.

[Misty]
Basically, we wanna know
what your PH is.

That's going to tell you a lot
about what's happening
in that garden.

So when you look through here
on the scale, you're low.

-You have an acidic soil.
-Okay.

-It doesn't look like a lot,
but it is a lot.
-It is.

And it affects the growth
of your plants.

-So, how do you fix PH?
-[Misty laughs]

In order to bring that PH up
a little bit,

we're gonna add
calcium carbonate and

-I want to do it
the natural way.
-Okay, yeah. Okay.

So, I would love to bring
some livestock here.

Because you can amend your
soil with livestock waste.

Are you open to bringing
livestock here?

Absolutely.

Okay, good.

Every little advantage
matters, especially
on a homestead.

If you can save yourself
a lot of money,

on soil treatment, fertilizer,
whatever it all it matters.

[narrator]
Animal waste from herbivores
like cows, sheep or chickens,

is a natural dirt enhancement
that supplies vital nutrients
for plant growth.

Increasing the soil's
organic matter.

Improves its structure
and drainage capability

while reducing the need
for commercial fertilizer.

I want to run an idea by you.

Mmm-hmm.

-I kind of peeked in here.
-Uh-huh.

What is this?

When Danny sold his old house,

he had to get this
out of there.

It had just been sitting
on his property.

It looks gross.

-[Kathy] Oh, yeah.
-[Misty] It's like...

-[Kathy] It's nasty.
-[Misty] It's nasty.

Is this up for grabs?

Absolutely.

I don't necessarily want
to like be in here.

-Mmm-mmm.
-Or put animals in here.

[Kathy]
It smells like mold.

-But I do want the trailer.
-Yeah?

Okay, I'm gonna try to see if
I can separate the camper

-from the frame
from the trailer.
-Right,

And if it's still intact
and it's still usable,

that trailer and that frame is
going to be the foundation
and the base for livestock.

In this case, chickens.

[narrator]
Misty and Kathy will salvage
the base of the old trailer,

and convert it into an eight
by 30 foot mobile chicken coop

with nesting boxes
for egg collection.

The mobile chicken home
will serve the dual purpose
of providing shelter,

and creating natural
fertilizer from chicken waste
to garden areas in need of

soil replenishment.

I'm excited to see
this thing go.

-Yeah.
-It's an eye sore.

Repurposing the camper
is wonderful.

We would have had to have
taken it apart and done
all that ourselves.

So I'm super excited to reuse,
repurpose that trailer frame

to make something that's
useful to us out here.

Absolutely.

[Misty] Okay. Ready?

[upbeat music playing]

Oh-oh.

[Misty]
Come on, baby. Tear apart.

This is awesome.
I love it.

There you go.

Get it, Misty.

Whoo!

Yes.

[upbeat music playing]

How's it going, Kathy?

Good. How are you doing?

-I'm good.
-Let's get back to work.

Okay.

[narrator] In a race,
to solve the dire and
unexplained growing problems,

that plagues the
Judson Guest homestead

Misty and Kathy prep

their mobile chicken home
build.

Misty's hope?

That the chicken waste
will fertilize the soil

and solve its low pH levels.

[Misty] Okay,
so this is going to be
like a rim joist.

We're going to put four joists
in this way and just follow

-the frame of the trailer.
-Okay.

This will be the coop,
and then the rest
will be the rut.

-Okay.
-Does that sound good?

-Yeah.
-You excited?

-I'm so excited.
-I'm so excited.

-Let's build this thing.
-Okay.

[Kathy] I've only heard of
a chicken tractor or trailer,

but how this particular one
is gonna go, I'm not sure yet.

But I think it's a grand idea,
I really do.

Okay, we're getting
to a point where we should
change this tire,

-what do you think?
-I think so, I think that
one's shot.

One out of four
isn't that bad.

All right, there we go.
That's what we needed.

And do you guys need
a tire for anything?

I got a brand new tire here.
I'll sell you cheap.

There's Misty trying to get
the trailer up

just one inch higher
to get the wheel on.

-And we might need the jack.
-[Marty] Guess what?

A few homesteads back,
I ran across an antique

1800s wagon jack.

What's happening?
What are you girls doing?

-A little tire change?
-Listen, it doesn't matter.

If you're in a covered wagon
in the 1700s, 1800s,

or in the 21st century,
you're going to have trouble

with the tires
or the wagon wheels.

Did you pull that out
of your truck?

This is a wagon wheel,
wagon jack.

-What?
-You have different elevations

that you get under
the leaf spring.

-What?
-And lift that thing up.

[Misty] You know you're having
a pretty weird day

when you've got a flat,
and your dad shows up,

and you're like, oh, good.
He'll help me.

And then he, like,
has an old antique
wooden wagon wheel jack.

You can't make this stuff up.

-Look at this.
-Oh, look at that.

Look at this.
Look at the leverage.

What?

-That is crazy.
-It works?

-We have that tire on.
-Okay.

I'm going to be so happy
if that'll work.

-Let it go.
-[exclaiming]

-Whoo!
-For real?

Yes, for real.

Wagon wheel jack.
Wagon wheel jack.

[Misty] There's some work
to do.

Thankfully, Kathy's on board
with whatever suggestion
I have,

because it takes a lot of
trust from the homesteader

to really believe that
we're going to pull it off.

Looks good.

We're trying to mend
the soil in the homestead,
little by little.

We wouldn't want
a solid floor.

We would want a floor
where the waste,

the fertilizer,
can pass through,

fertilize a pretty good area,
and then hook up to this thing

and move it
to the next location.

This is a heavy gauge steel.

No raccoon is chewing
through this.

-Awesome. I love it.
-Good.

[upbeat music playing]

[Kathy]
We worked really hard.

We've gotten a lot done
on the chicken coop,

and I'm super excited.

This thing is huge.

This trailer is 30 feet long.

I think this is the biggest
livestock pen I've ever built.

This is phenomenal.
I just can't even tell you.

They've got eight by 12 coop.

Then they've got
an 18 by eight run.

It's absolutely awesome.

This is the four-in-one
chicken mahal trailer.

-Yeah.
-It does it all.

-It does it all. It slices.
-It dices.

-It juliennes.
-[laughs]

-I think the heat got to us
a little bit.
-[laughs]

[upbeat music playing]

[Marty]
Kathy, are you ready to start
your hunting journey?

I'm very excited.

[narrator]
Later that afternoon,
Matt shepherds Kathy on

her first step toward becoming
a master hunter.

We have a bow for you
to shoot with.

-I'm down.
-You're down?

The thing about bow hunting
is it's a lot quieter.

It's a lot less daunting
than using a firearm.

And it's a really cool way
to start to learn how to hunt.

Kathy is new to hunting,
so I think it'd be really
sweet

to do some tests and see,

does she have what it takes
to get an arrow into a target

and take an effective shot.

You live on a homestead
that needs food.

But you won't be providing
any food unless

you actually know how
to use the tools effectively

-and humanely, okay?
-Right.

If you combine rifle season
with bow hunting season,

you basically double
your season.

We're starting out
Kathy with a bow,

and that doesn't mean
she couldn't use a firearm
in the future,

and she could be twice
as successful on
this homestead.

By the end of this lesson,

I think you're going to be
pretty confident with at least

pulling back and letting
an arrow loose.

Okay.

We got a bow right here.

[Kathy] Okay.

First of all,
you're holding it wrong.

I know. I'm sure.

You want to have this string
facing you.

-Facing me.
-Okay, got it.

[Kathy]
I really want to learn how
to be able to hunt

so we're not dependent
on outside resources

and to be self-sustainable.

That's it.
That's the first part.

Now, I think we should see
if you can pull an arrow back.

Okay.

You want to put this here?

Here's the goal.

I want to put her to the test,
get her shooting,

because that's the thing
that's giving her the edge

that she'll need when
it comes time to hunt.

Get your stance.
Find your stance.

Okay? Now pull.

Use your back, both arms.
Pull, pull, pull, pull, pull.

Oh, there we go.

You got it. Keep it pulled.

-Ooh.
-A little low.

-That was low, yeah.
-But, but.

-I did it.
-I mean, you hit the target.

That's great.

Kathy showed a lot of promise
the first time we did

some target practice
with that compound bow.

It didn't go exactly
where it needed to go.

But she's super excited.

And every time she shoots
this bow and hits the target,

she just lights up
like I've never seen.

You've literally started
your bow hunting journey.

How does it feel?

It feels empowering,
to be honest with you.

That's awesome.

The more she practices
this week,

the better
she's going to get.

-Let's do more.
-I'm excited.

[upbeat music playing]

Okay.

-Let's talk a little bit.
-Okay.

Well, I'm going to cut right
to the chase.

It's going to be up to you
whether or not we find water.

You have to sign off
on me coming down here

and nosing around
with an excavator.

I'm good with that.

As of right now,
I can't use it anyway.

[Marty] We got the
water catchment
system in place.

So now the plot truly
does thicken.

If we don't solve the mystery
of the spring gone dry,

we will leave these
homesteaders high and dry.

Let's roll the dice,
spin the wheel,

pick a card, any card,
and get started.

[upbeat music playing]

[narrator]
With several big mysteries
on the Judson Guests'

homestead still unsolved...

[Misty] Okay, we're ready.
Here we go.

[narrator] ...Misty tests the
mobile chicken
home's mobility

to ensure it effectively
dispenses much needed

chicken waste to fertilize
the garden soil.

[Misty] This homestead
can't grow food.

And the solution is use
chickens not only
for egg production,

meat production,
but also fertilizer.

-Kathy!
-Yeah?

-How did it look when
we moved it?
-It looks good.

-It looks rigid, strong.
-[Kathy] Yep.

[Matt]
This is going to be sweet.

[narrator]
And over at the game trail.

Now steady it
so it doesn't tip.

-You want me to ride it?
-You don't need to ride it.

Just hold it with your hand.

[narrator]
Matt and Daniel break ground
on a new hunting blind.

[Matt] There's definitely
enough deer roaming around
this property

that putting in
a hunting blind
is the way to go.

-Everybody has heard
of a cube.
-Yeah.

And that's usually what
we build a lot of the times

when we build sheds
and even hunting blinds.

I want to go a step up
from the cube,

and I want to build a

icosahedron.

Okay.

-Have you ever heard
of this before?
-No, I have not.

An icosahedron
is a 20-sided shape made

entirely of equilateral
triangles.

Everybody knows
what a cube is.

It's a box.

I don't want to build
that because the corners

are going to be
a little constrictive.

But if I build a 20-sided
dome structure,

it'll actually give us
a lot more space,

interior space,
and make it a lot roomier.

Because you need a lot
more room to shoot

a compound bow
than you do a firearm.

So take a triangle
and think about it
like a flat,

like let's build like
a flower where

all the triangle points
are connected to each other

and they're all pointing
outwards.

Okay, like a sun.

Like the sun, exactly.

Okay, let's put some joists
in here and sheet the thing

-and start building on top.
-All right.

When I was younger, we heard
lots of stories of my dad

and his father in the outdoors
has kind of been passed down
to me.

Follow me. I think I have
the perfect spot for
this thing.

He does enjoy this lifestyle.
And my dad's a fighter.

Kathy's a fighter.

And they absolutely need
the blind to put some food

on the table and to have
a sustainable homestead.

The deck is sitting at
about waist height.

It's the perfect height
to just get a clear shot

of anything that walks through
this field.

But we're not there yet,
so we'll brace it,

get it sheeted,
and then go into
the triangle mode.

[chuckles]

Coming in.

[narrator] With Danny
working on
the cabin,

Marty attempts to revive
the homestead's mysteriously
dried up well.

Oh.

Sun's going down,
but we're here.

[narrator] Marty's plan,
redevelop the spring

and install a new well
and water line,

connecting the water source
to the homestead's new cabin

400 feet away.

But any misstep could destroy
the source,

making water on the property
all but impossible.

Six acres, no ferns except
right in this area.

And by the way,
I started seeing them
over here.

These ferns are here
for a reason, though,

telling me that
there's moisture here

more than anywhere else
on the property.

So on the way down here,
I hit sand.

I hit rock.

And the water's not going
to stay on top of that.

It's going to go down through.
It's going to filter through
sand and rock.

But right here, it's clay.

Maybe the water is standing
on top of the clay right here.

I think we're going
to look for a little water

right now before the sun
goes down.
Let's see what happens.

Nothing ventured,
nothing gained.

I think there's water there.

I got to tell you,
that looks like water to me.

Oh.

That's wet.

Wet's good.

Well, that could be just water
from rain

or whatever sitting on top
of the bedrock.

But that ain't enough water
to run a homestead,

so we got to get after it.

Let's keep looking.

Often when I'm looking
for water, I see mirages.

I dig that scoop of dirt out,
and I think I see water

dripping from the bucket.

But as long as I keep digging,
there's a chance that

we're going to find water.

Went a little deeper.

There's some water
right there.

Yep. There it is.
Can you see it running?

You see the movement?

Boom. There's a spring
right there. See it?

Running on top of the bedrock.

This is not bad news at all,
but it's not very much water.

I'm not convinced that that
amount of water sustained

all the people that allegedly,
assumably lived here.

I'm hoping water will find
the path of least resistance,
right?

So opening this trench up,
I'm wondering if new water
will go,

"Hey, let's go
that way, right?"

So...

talk's cheap.

We'll look at this
in the morning,

and we might be in
for a big surprise.

[upbeat music playing]

[Marty]
Come on down, guys, please.

[narrator]
With 72 hours to go,
Marty gathers Danny

and Kathy after a discovery
at their well site.

Left here last night,
and since then,
give it a look.

We got water.

-There it is.
-We got water.

That's awesome.

There's some really
good news here.
It's filling as we speak.

I think I know what
happened here.

This water is running through
these mountains of Virginia
in the bedrock.

Danny's been picking
and shoveling,

but you're not going
to go through that bedrock

with a pick and shovel.

You're getting the surface.
That surface water may go dry.

But with an excavator,
you can peel back layers

and hopefully between
the green ferns on the bank,

the swale in the ground,
and a huge excavator.

It's a perfect,
perfect recipe for

finding a new water source.

-Wow.
-Wow, that's pretty good.

This is amazing.

Absolutely the most water
we've ever seen.

So this is one of the huge
pieces of the puzzle.

If he can capture that
somehow, we're set.

We were hoping
we could get it back.

Because that is pure water.

I'm really happy for you guys

because I know what
this means.

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

But I'm not happy
with the little amount
of water

that I see seeping in.

So I want to give you
more volume.

I want to dig down
with the excavator.

But potentially, if I get
too aggressive,

we lose this water forever.

-It's a bit of a gamble.
-Right.

We're all kind of excited,
but in the back of my mind,

I'm thinking,
it's not enough water.

Not to thrive on
this homestead.

The search isn't over.

We've not fixed the problem.

What I want to do
is dig it down deeper.

And that is a gamble.

Because if I go through some
layer of bedrock and,

you know, it's like pulling
the plug in a bathtub.

-Yeah.
-Right.

But we're going
to try to develop this water

with your permission.

Like I said,
have the Reins, Marty.

Do what you need to do.

-Take the Reins.
No pun intended.
-I trust you 100%, man.

Never give a Raney the Reins.

-[all laughing]
-But in the meantime,
I'm going to get back to work.

-Thank you.
-I'm happy for you.

[Kathy] Thank you so much.

[upbeat music playing]

I just saw a massive hawk,
like just now.

-[Kathy] Right.
-Massive.

It would take out your whole
flock in the morning.

-Yeah.
-So I think we turned
the area underneath

the trailer into
a run as well.

I love it.

-It will double
the square footage.
-Right.

Obviously, protection
from any aerial predators,

protection from all the ground

predators,
like it all matters

if you're going to raise
chickens humanely.

[Kathy] Yes, I agree.

They don't have
a fighting chance
when it comes to predators.

They get attacked
from the sky.

They like raccoons, fox,
whatever.

In order to really keep
them safe,

you want to have
a protected run.

If you do a soft hinge
and it allows some flexibility

-with movement of the ground,
these things,
-Right.

as long as they're just
sitting level on the ground,

allows no space
for any predators.

And then flip with me
allows it to flip.

-Like this.
-Okay.

And then when you go
to move this thing,
you lock it, you latch it,

drive it to its new location,
unlock it,

and then just flip it down.

Oh.

-I like that. That's awesome.
-You like it?

I want to hinge drop-down
doors on the side that allows

chickens to roam around
underneath the chicken
trailer.

So I'm thinking cut up
an old tow strap, soft hinge.

That way there's no gaps,
there's no space,

and the chickens are nice
and safe.

Okay. Come in here.

-Oh, this is so cool.
-So good.

-Look at this.
-[Misty] Nesting boxes.

-I made the little
chicken trap door.
-Awesome.

This thing,
we got the metal on.

But I stopped short
for a reason.

-Okay.
-Winter's right around
the corner.

You missed your little window
with your growing season.

-So here's what I think
we should do.
-Okay.

I think we should have
a temporary greenhouse

on this and this little corner
of the coop.

Okay. I think that'll be
a lot of good passive solar

for the chickens, too,
because we do get cold nights.

Yeah, and light.

They lay more eggs with
the more daylight that
they have.

-Right.
-It's good for egg production.

It's good for all of it.

-Let's go.
-Let's go.

The coop is amazing.
That thing is huge.

I love it.
It's multipurpose.

They've got nesting boxes.
They've got perches.

And we're talking now about
putting a little greenhouse
space

in the front of that.

I love the idea
of a greenhouse.

I always wanted a greenhouse.

This is a great starter
for me, which is great.

I can start seeds.
I've got a couple of plants

that need to overwinter
somewhere.

It's warm enough,
so I think that will be ideal.

So I'm very excited.

-Throw them on there.
-Okay.

-Love it?
-I do.

-I love it, love it.
-Better than the trailer?

Yes, much better.
They'll get light.

This is way better.

We just need a little water.

Okay.

And I mean, this is like,
it's not a big space.

-Right.
-But these guys were living in

a trailer with no sun at all,
so this is an upgrade.

-Absolutely.
-And I feel like
when it comes to doing

-your chores,
it's all right here.
-Absolutely.

I'm pretty pumped
on this thing,

but it's getting too warm.
So let's get out.

Okay.

I'm on top of the world.

[narrator] On the outskirts of
the homestead,

Matt and Daniel piece
together the walls
of the hunting blind.

This three-triangled structure
that we built here,

this is basically like
our first wall.

And now we need
to build one on that side

and one on this side.

And we'll get a good idea of
where we need to cut a door,

cut our areas where we can
shoot through with our bows.

And we'll get an idea
of how tall it will be

because this isn't going to be
a place where you're going

to be standing up inside.

The structural integrity,
it actually happens once

the whole thing is together.

And once we get the roof on,
it's going to be incredibly
strong.

-Locked in.
-It'll be all locked
into place.

Just like that.

Okay, now try to push
those boards out

and try to match the tops up.
We're gonna go.

-Go wide.
-There you go.

Nice.

Okay, so that's looking
really good, actually.

There we go.

Here's our top plate.

I think it's so sturdy.

Is it gonna all go together?

It's not going together.

Oh, my God. Whoa.

-Why is it not going together?
-We messed up.

The math is not mathing.

Oh, my God.

My perfect plan
to assemble this dome,

is starting to unravel because
the roof is not going together

exactly how I thought.

And the math isn't mathing.

But you can't spell math
without the word Mat.

And I am definitely
not quitting.

And I'm going to figure
this roof out.

I think I made a mistake.

We need to figure out what
dimension triangles
will go together

to come in to a point
at the center of our roof.

Still, it's very rigid,
and it's going to work.

It's just not the perfect dome
that I thought it was going
to be.

This is going to slow us down
a little bit,

but I think I can figure
this out.

I don't know if it was
your fault or mine.

[laughing]

[laughs]

[Marty] Need a hand?

-No, I got it.
-Oh, well, shoot.

Back at the cabin,
Marty takes a break

from digging to get
to the bottom of another

important homesteading issue.

What are you going to do
for heating in this cabin?

Well, the whole thing's built
around my dad's stove.

We want to put in here
the last thing he built
before he died.

-Can you show it to me?
-Sure.

Let's go.

-Thing's pretty cool looking.
-Yeah.

And he welded
the date in here.

October 1978?

Yes, sir.
And he died November 1979.

Oh, no way.

-In a car accident.
-What?

Head-on collision with
a tanker tractor trailer.

-[Marty] How old were you
at the time?
-11.

You mentioned to me
the other day that
you've been working

since you were 13 or 14.

-Hmm-hmm.
-Is this one of the reasons
why your dad was gone

and you were kind of fending
for yourself a little bit?

Yeah, because mom had
her own things to deal with.

She had an illness, you said.

She had [indistinct]
which is a brain tumor

that they took out.

Yeah, I had no idea.
That's kind of rough.

Yeah.

I mean, it had its struggles,
but it made me who I am today,
you know?

He's always been
a big part of my life,
whether he was here or not.

The wood stove was pretty much
the last thing my dad built

before he died.

It wasn't the house that
we grew up in until my sister

renovated the basement,
and she no longer needed it.

So I told her, like, "Well,
I want it."

And it's been in storage
for about 15 years,

waiting for this place.

[Marty] This thing is
more than enough
to heat this cabin.

So if the plan is to get
that wood stove in there,

-I say we do it
while we're here.
-Okay.

Every step closer
is well appreciated.

I have quite a few memories
with that stove.

It was down in the basement
of the house.

We'd have, you know,
a bunch of the neighbors over

and have what we called
sing-ins.

There was two pianos
down there,

and Dad played the wrench,
and my uncle played the spoons

and things like that,
and we'd just fire
that stove up

pretty much every time.

So there was always a lot
of good memories there.

I'd love to start
using it again.

Came through a 32-inch door,
so we should make it through
a 36.

[Marty] Your dad was smart.

One, two, three.

You got it?

Boom.

Everybody come right now,
everybody.

This is amazing.
This is the mother lode.

It's insane.

All right, climb in there.

[Matt] I need to test Kathy
and see if she has

what it takes to bring down
a deer.

[arrow fires]

[upbeat music playing]

[narrator]
With less than 48 hours before
the Raneys must leave,

Danny and Kathy's Virginia
homestead is buzzing
with activity.

Okay, I figured out a way
to get this to work.

[narrator] On the outskirts of
the property,

Matt nears completion on
a 20-sided hunting blind

where the deer teaming
the land will be culled
for use

as a valuable food source.

And then we'll turn it
into a really cool
hunting blind

by opening up this front wall
and giving ourselves a place

where we can actually shoot
from inside.

[Kathy] Misty!

[narrator] And after
figuring out that
low pH levels caused

Kathy's garden to mysteriously
stop producing crops,

Misty seeks a fresh start
while awaiting a delivery
of chickens

whose waste will replenish
the homestead's nutrients.

[Misty] The old garden was
on the lowest part
of the property.

Lots of cold air,
lots of shade.

And I just think
the best thing

I could do right now is create
a new garden space.

I'm actually really excited
to finally talk about

gardening and just never
looking back to the garden
mysteries

-that you're having
down there.
-Right.

And just setting yourself up
for success.

And I think we should
do a winter garden.

-Okay.
-We should do a winter garden
on this homestead.

It's just a matter of where.

[narrator] Winter gardens
originated in the 17th century

when European nobility built
conservatories to house
tropical

and subtropical plants.

Today, modern winter gardens
are planted to produce
edible crops

that can thrive in
colder temperatures

and with minimal sunlight,
like carrots, broccoli,

onions, and leafy greens
like kale and spinach.

For me, I like
keeping gardens

and livestock close
to the home.

Right. We can go right off
the back of the house.

Right off the end.
So here's the thing.

We're getting into the shade.

But you want to be downhill
from the water tank.

-So I guess let's go in here.
-Yeah.

We are heading into wintertime
in Virginia,

and there's still time
to plant.

What's really epic about
this winter garden

is that we'll be able
to salvage what we can
of the growing season.

We're putting in
a winter garden.
You ready?

I am so ready.

-Let's go.
-That's awesome.

[narrator] Misty will create
a fenced-in 25-by-50-foot
winter garden

with hardy vegetables
planted in covered raised beds

that will capture heat
and withstand cold
winter temperatures

to produce a bountiful
year-round harvest.

Okay, Kathy.

Yes, ma'am.

-You ready to amend some soil?
-Yes, absolutely.

-So we're going to adjust
the pH, right?
-Okay.

Nice.

So you could smash these
with a little rolling pin

in a Ziploc bag.

-Or you could do...
-I want to help.

-It's like bubble wrap.
-Get in there.

It's better than bubble wrap.

So in order to amend the soil,
you need about five pounds

of calcium carbonate, right?

Like garden lime,
eggs, whatever.

Right.

But you need about five pounds
per 100 square feet.

So that's like a 10 by 10
foot area, right?

So little by little,
it's gonna take some time,

-Right.
-but you have free soil
amenders with those chickens.

Absolutely.

-Right.
-You get this whole homestead

to a place where you can grow
anything and everything.

Kathy and I are working
in the eggshells,

which will help raise the pH,
and we're waiting on

the chickens to arrive,
which will bring in that

high nitrogen,
that organic fertilizer.

And over time,
with these things,

Kathy will be able to build
her soil to a place

where she can grow
anything she wants.

We're actually going to push
T-posts in with a skid steer.

Have you ever done
that before?

I haven't,
but I'm willing to learn.

Nobody needs a T-post pounder.
We got the skid steers.

-We're good.
-Here we go.

All right.

[upbeat music playing]

Three, four.

-This is 5'4", right here.
-Okay, so we're going to call
that good.

So we're off to the next one.

So you're going to go
eight feet out,

pull your string,
grab a T-post,
and put it where it goes.

Okay.

Got it.

I am confident in the spot
that we picked.

I know it'll get 12 hours
of sun in the summer.

I'm not worried about
summer sun at all.

I think we can get
a good six hours

for a winter garden in there.

This is how you put in
a fence.

[Kathy]
I have no idea what Misty
plans to plant out there

for her winter garden,
because I've never done one.

So I'm excited about that.

We'll have to see what
she has up her sleeve.

[Misty] Woo!
Easier than a T-post pounder?

Yes.

-Here we go.
-Okay.

Next.

[upbeat music playing]

[narrator] On the lower end
of the homestead...

[Marty] This morning,
we did find
a little water.

I got the homeowners,
we all looked at it,

we all got excited,

but I never was satisfied with
that little amount of water.

The challenge here
is while I'm nosing around
for water,

I have to be very careful
because if I over dig
or make a mistake,

we could lose everything
that we developed.

We could collapse
the water source.

I scratched and banged
and clanked,

got a little more aggressive
with the granite.

Whoa!

And lo and behold,
I pulled out this
six-foot-long

Matterhorn of a stone,
and out of it came...

Check this out.
We hit a vein of water.

Look at this.
This is the mother lode.

Look at that water!

This is 10 gallons a minute.

It's insane.

Everybody come right now,
everybody.

This is amazing.

Sorry to stop all the work,
but this might be worth it.

Holy...

[Misty gasps]

-Wow.
-Oh, wow.

-Look at this.
-Oh, my God.

That's it.

-Oh, my...
-[Marty]
That's the mother lode.

-There it is.
-There she is.

-Look at that.
-Oh my.

-Look how clean it is.
-That is it.

You found it.

I've never seen a spring
like that ever, ever, ever.

-All right.
-That's more water than
we can ever use in a day.

That's more water than
you can ever use in
a lifetime.

Right.

Oh, after that, I could
even put into words.

I can't tell you.

This is just surreal.

-It is. I mean.
-[Danny] To have all this
happening here.

It would have taken us years
to do what the Raneys

are helping us do now.
It's amazing.

I love this.
Thank you.

Don't thank me.

-Just be happy that
you believed in the property.
-Oh, I am.

You believed in it.

-We did.
-You believed in it.

-Super Marty.
-Congratulations.

We'll develop it.
Trust me.

And we'll be very careful
and try to get every drop.

We'll all get back to work.
We'll leave you two here.

[Kathy]
Having abundance of water
is amazing.

It means we really can
thrive out here.

We can have animals.

We can have
a successful garden.

Wow.

[Kathy] And we've got the rain
catchment going now.

I'm, I'm super stoked.

I mean, this is great.

This is mind-blowing.

It's amazing. I'm...

I'm overwhelmed right now,
really.

I mean, this truly means
we can be self-sustainable.

We have our own water.

I could actually get
a real show.

-[sniffles]
-[both laugh]

[Danny] One thing
I've always told you,

-we're always going
to be okay.
-I know.

Always going to be okay.

Kathy, it's hard as nails,
but it's been tough
for her lately.

I'd doing anything
in my power...

to give her everything
she wants.

That, to me, is priceless.

That is the most beautiful
thing I've ever seen.

-[laughs] Except me, right?
-Right.

Of course.
Of course, honey.

-I'm just messing with you.
-[laughs]

We've got it now.

Wow.

[upbeat music playing]

-[Misty]
How's it going, Kathy?
-Good.

[narrator]
With only 36 hours remaining
on the Judson Guest Homestead,

Misty and Kathy begin
the monumental final step

at the Winter Garden
that will bring new life

to the family's food shortage.

You like it?

This is your backyard garden,
where we basically use

just logs left over
from the cabin.

-This looks amazing.
-Look at your square footage.

-It's good.
-It is.

The fence is done.
You've got your gate.

I love it.
This is awesome.

I think we're finally
to a place where
we should plant.

-I like it.
-You want to plant?

-Okay.
-Yes, absolutely.

We have a bunch of plants
to plant in the winter garden.

So we're just going
to keep moving.

But I think this is what all
the hard work was all about.

So super excited
to get another source of food
on this homestead.

So let's talk about
winter gardening.

Okay.

Obviously, sun direction,
south facing is key.

By just getting
out of the cold ground

and doing raised beds
gives you all of that warmth

-that you can capture
throughout the day.
-Okay.

The little things like
a raised bed,

the little things
like soil mending,

you're going to see
a difference.

-Right.
-This year.

So there's lots of vegetables
that actually can go down

to the 20s, temperatures
in the teens even.

-Wow.
-So things like broccoli

and onions, things like garlic
you've planted now

and are harvesting spring
and all throughout the summer.

Also, plants like carrots
have their little defense
mechanism

where those cooler
temperatures give you

a sweeter vegetable
because those starches
turn to sugars...

-Oh, okay.
-...in order to protect
themselves,

which is actually
really cool.

So you can have better tasting
veggies in a winter garden,

-which I think is really cool.
-That is.

I did not know that.

to be in a place like Virginia
and not take full advantage

of your growing season
is a crying shame.

So when you take
a step back and you look
at this winter garden,

the little things like
the raised beds,

the amount of sun, the mulch,
the right veggies,

it all matters when
you're putting
a winter garden in.

So this is the time of year
where most people are

wrapping things up,
but Kathy's just
getting started.

You're not going to have
to buy fertilizer ever again

-because you have
those chickens.
-Right, right.

So that manure
will just start a pile,

let it break down,
let it compost.

[Kathy] Right.

Give it some time,
and it'll be perfect.

This is going to sustain us
this winter.

-This is amazing.
-It's so good.

With the garden,
I was really hoping to do
some raised beds.

And so for Misty
to incorporate that
and to do the hoop gardens

and give us a winter garden,

This is absolutely amazing.

I really look forward
to all those wonderful
vegetables

and being able just to go out
in the garden,

pick dinner,
and come in and cook it.

And that's awesome.

So we're going to throw on
our mulch

and throw on our plant cover.

-Okay.
-So that protects their roots.
When you combine the two,

the plants are nice
and warm overnight.

And this is essentially
just a massive blanket.

The cherry on top
for the winter garden

is throwing on
the hoop houses.

We have all these small trees
that we cut down in order

to create the space.

We're gonna throw plant cover
over the top

and protect these gardens
from frost.

That's it.

So now these plants are nice
and protected.

Like, this is all you need.

-Excited to see what
you can grow?
-Yes.

So very excited.
I love this.

This is awesome.

You're going to have
a good harvest even
in the wintertime.

Okay, on to the next one.

-Here we go.
-All right.

[upbeat music playing]

[Marty] All right, guys.
Welcome to Easter Island.

-Oh, wow.
-[laughs]

[narrator] As the rescue
approaches its final day,

Marty has a solution
for a problem in need
of a jump start.

We've just installed
solar panels,

and there's not
a cloud in sight.

And so today,
we're going to go from

800-watt solar panels
to 5,000 watts.

Oh, my God.

-Nice.
-That's a lot.

[Marty]
These solar panels are
all basking in the sun,

pointed right at it,
but more importantly,

generating electricity.

Take a look at this.

Holy cow.

This is a complete system
to power a fourplex.

Wow.

This is a home-scale
power plant,

so this will fully power
a home off the grid.

You've got 10,000
kilowatt hours,

10 kilowatt hours,
10,000 watt hours in there.

[Kathy] Wow.

-[Daniel] That's a lot more.
-You don't have to start

the car now.

Oh, man.

[Daniel]
That's a lot more watts.

You guys don't know what
a blessing that is.

He literally gets up two,
three times a night

and runs the van
to help out our camper.

That is amazing, y'all.

It means a lot.
It means a lot.

[chuckles]

[laughs]

Your nights of waking up
in the middle of the night,

hopefully fully over now,
and with all that solar

to fill up those batteries
should work perfectly
for your house.

You'll be able to power
your well pump,

your fridge, any lights
that you want to put in
your home,

be able to really give
you guys a new life here.

Oh, my God.

Don't know what
I did deserve this.

That's truly what's going
through my mind right now.

I'm actually speechless to
a certain degree because...

I mean, I never expected that.

I was just hoping to get
the panels that I had up

and running better and,
you know, do a little tweaking
on that.

This was just unbelievable.

[Kathy] It's absolutely
a life changer.

I mean, just the thought
of you being able to get sleep

if you want to or can.
Heck, yeah.

-It's been a minute since
I've done that.
-That's awesome.

You did the same thing we did.

You chose to live in
the country

and persevered
in spite of it all.

That's why you're getting
this.

Wow.

Oh, man.

[laughs]

[Danny]
We had really no idea
what he was bringing in.

It was that tall in
the back of the truck.

The whole thing was
maybe a refrigerator.

I had no idea it was going
to be something like this,
though.

[Kathy]
This is life changing.

-It really is life changing.
-[Danny] Yeah.

[upbeat music playing]

-[Matt] On this next one?
-Mm-hmm.

Instead of that bullseye,
aim at the one on the top.

-The one above it?
- [narrator] It's the last day
of the rescue.

But Matt's effort
to bring hunting to
the homestead

will not be complete unless
Kathy can pass

her final round of tests.

That's all right.

[narrator] If successful,
she'll be able to share

her new skills with Danny
so they can keep their freezer

filled with much needed
protein.

[Matt] Getting closer.

Give a man a fish,
he eats for a day.

Teach a man to fish,
he eats for a lifetime.

And that is so the case here.

I mean, it's definitely
a challenge.

Like, I'll keep trying,
because that's just
the way I am.

I will keep trying.

I think it'd be really
beneficial to practice sitting

or kneeling position.

-Okay.
-Okay?

Why don't you give it a try?

Kathy's been shooting
really good with the bow.

I don't want to call it
beginner's luck,

but we're going to give her
a real test,

shooting while kneeling,
and see what she really has.

Getting closer.

The more you practice,
the more sure you're going
to be.

One more shot.

-That's a nice grouping.
-That is tight.

That's really good.

-Awesome. High five.
-Thank you.

Kathy might be a natural.

She's picking up this archery
for bow hunting really quick.

But I think the main goal
will be to get her up
in that blind,

have her shooting at more
realistic targets

is going to be the true test
whether or not she has
what it takes.

That'll get your mind
into the hunt

and get you more
into that hunting mindset.

-Okay, I'm game.
-No, you're a predator.

[laughs]

-Yeah! Look at my man.
-All one!

-[narrator]
Across the homestand.
-Perfect.

-What do you mean?
-It's exactly perfect.

That's perfect.

[narrator] It's a race to
complete the most critical
project of all,

bringing water to the cabin.

The first step,
Marty and Danny install

a 1,000-gallon catchment tank
that, along with the well,

will provide ample
drinking water.

Coming back,
coming back. Whoa.

-Pretty good in there.
-It's got to be perfect.

Look at that tank.

[Danny]
Pretty good right there.

Let's get it perfect.
Thank you.

[Misty] Whoo-whoo!

-Let's go check out
the chicken.
-[Kathy] Awesome.

[narrator] Over at the mobile
chicken home...

-How's it going?
-Going great.

Hi, you guys.

-How are you?
-Misty.

-Brent.
-Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.
-Thanks for being here.

-What do you have for us?
-This is the chicken wagon.

-Yes.
-Oh, my goodness.

[Misty]
The chickens are here.

Last day on the homestead.

Super big day.

So we're just going
to keep moving.

But I think, you know,
this is what all the hard work
was all about.

Finally, we get the payoff.

[Brent]
Here's the rooster.

-Oh, yeah. Here's the big boy.
-You do the rooster.

-You all right?
-Tell them hi, buddy.

-She's a big fat girl.
-There's some bagels in here.

How many did you bring?

25, counting the rooster.
24 girls and one boy.

-Oh, my gosh.
Thanks, you guys.
-Yeah, thank you.

-This is great.
-You've never had
livestock here.

-These are like
your first animals.
-These are my first babies.

So you're looking at like
an incredible amount of eggs

and an incredible way
to amend your soil.

[Kathy] Absolutely.

Having chickens here
is a total game changer.

These chickens are both
laying hens as well as
meat chickens.

We can have fresh chicken
for dinner.

We've got eggs for breakfast.

-So that is phenomenal.
-See the door?

We got our little trap door,
so you don't have to go in
the chicken world.

[Kathy] I love it.

This is the most ingenious
contraption

I think you've ever
come up with.

-It feels nice and warm.
-Yeah, it's nice and cozy.

The greenhouse part
is bringing in lots of warmth

for my plants.

It's just amazing.

You really appreciate
the good when you've been
through the struggle.

-Yeah.
-There's times when
you're just running around

like a chicken with
your head cut off.

No, I'm sorry, girls.
That was not a good...

-That was rude.
-That was rude.

Chickens are in the coop.
Now it's time to drop
the sides

and let the chickens out.

-Okay, got them on, tied.
-Mm-hmm.

Last but not least,
there's this little trap door
which allows,

when you're home, to...

drop.

And that way you doubled
the run, right?

That's amazing.
Do you remember
what it used to be?

Do you remember the camper?

Oh, God, yes.

-Yes, I do.
-We've come a long ways.

-Oh, absolutely.
-Good job.

-Thank you.
-Now we're going
to the garden.

Okay, Kathy.

-What you think?
-Look at this garden.

-It's awesome.
-It's so good.

-It is.
-This is your winter garden.

That's amazing.
I didn't know I could do this.

Yeah.
You've got your raised beds.

You have amazing sun
south facing.

You've got
your little blankets,
your little plant covers.

You've got your mulch
for the insulation.

-Right.
-And you have
the right veggies.

I'm really happy with
how the winter garden
turned out

and just
figuring out its location.

All the tips, the raised beds,
the plant cover, the mulch,

the toys and veggies,
all of it makes
a huge difference.

And guess what?

We have water to water it.

You have over 1,000 gallons
with the new catchment system.

-It's amazing.
-So much water.

You're set.

It's a good day.

I think it's official.

We've solved Kathy's
garden mystery.

[narrator] One week ago,
Kathy and Danny's garden

mysteriously died on the vine,
leaving them unable

to sustain themselves.

Now, they have
a bountiful winter garden

with nutrient-rich land
and a mobile chicken trailer
with a full flock,

which will provide an
essential source of protein

while rejuvenating the soil
with natural fertilizer

for future growing needs.

You have solved so many
of my gardening issues.

This is just the beginning.

-Yeah.
-Thank you.

-Good job on hanging in there.
-Thank you so much.

And working so hard.
You did it.

All right. Woo!

[blows whistle]

[narrator] With the sun fading
in the final hours,

Marty still has one major task
to complete,

connecting the water from
the revitalized spring

to the new cabin.

-Let's put this water line in.
-Okay.

I'm going to try to sneak
my teeth right under wherever

you say and start digging
a two foot deep water line

from here to there.

-Okay.
-Show me where
to start digging.

Okay.

When you find water,
you have to get that water

to its destination.

The water line doesn't run
on top of the ground

because it would freeze
in the wintertime.

So every state has
what's called the frost line.

Do me a favor.
Grab a tape measure.

I'll start digging.
Make sure I'm two feet.
And here we go.

Okay. All right.

Thank you.

Right here in Virginia,
it's 18 inches.

But we're going to make it
deeper to be safe.

Where's two feet?

Are we there?

Yup.

The water down there,
that's really important
for us.

But we also have to be able
to get it up to the cabin.

I'm a little concerned
about it, but hopefully
we can.

[upbeat music playing]

He's fast with that thing.
I'll give him that.

[Marty] In every large city,
there is a water utility.

On a homestead, you don't have
a big city water utility.

You have to figure it all out
on your own.

Look at that water sitting in
all that beautiful stone.

-I know.
-See the rim of it?

[Danny] Yeah.

-That's amazing.
-That gray rim.

I'm going to start burying it,
so just anchor it up.

Here we go.

When I showed up here
seven days ago,

I had all the time in
the world with no water.

And now I've got all the water
in the world.

But guess what?

Once you find a water source,
it takes 10 times longer
to get it

from point A to point B,
the cabin, the house.

I'm running out of time,
but we're not going
to give up.

We're going to do a hack.
We got a 400-foot water line.

We got a three-quarter
horsepower pump.

Look at that thing.

Matt's nephew, Owen,
is kind of new to the crew,

and I asked him,
how would you put a screen

on there to protect sand
from getting in that pump
and compromising it?

He had no idea.

Stay right there
for a minute.

Oh, no.

[laughs]

So I was gonna pull
a prank on you,

and Clint pulled
a prank on me.

[Clint]
Do I wear nylon stockings?

I guess it depends on what day
of the week it is.

Let's put the filter
on the pump.

Nylon will last forever.

Anything fine particle,
it's not going in.

Don't tell the homeowners
that that was on my leg.

Let's go put it in.

[car honks]

Here comes the culvert.

Perfect.

[laughs]

Love it.

[narrator] Racing the sun on
the final day of
the Central Virginia rescue,

Marty scrambles to seal
the well and bring
running water

to the Judson Guest homestead.

We got a little rock here.
It's going to serve as
a filter.

We have to go inside this,
underneath it, and around it.

-All right. Got it.
-That's the plan.

-Got it.
-But...

Most of this water, I think,
is going to hydraulic
from underneath.

But we're going to help
this thing collect more water

by cutting slits in the side.

-All right.
-You up for it?

-Absolutely.
-Okay.

We put the water line in.

Now we have to put
in a bunch of clean,

washed rock
and put in a culvert.

We're pretty fortunate
so far to have struck
this much water,

but how do you capture
that water and keep it clean

and enough water
so no matter what

the water needs of are
on this homesteader,
you have enough?

The more holes,
the more water.

That's why Danny's
cutting slits into the culvert

so that we can get every drop
of water oozing

through these Virginia
hillsides.

All right,
let's set it in, all right?
Hook it up.

Here we go.

We'll put some rock in there.

[Danny] Getting culvert
in the ground now.

We got gravel down the bottom
and putting gravel around
the end.

And the felt right there
goes around it to filter out

some of the sediment
and keep out of there.

[Marty]
Coming around the mountain
when she comes.

There's no turning back.

Are we catching water?

-Look at that.
-That'll work.

It's right at 100 gallons
per foot.

-Right.
-Okay?

So my guess is you're going
to have hundreds of gallons

-of water on call
when it's full.
-Right.

So as I stand here right now,
we've got a well filling up

with more water than
they'll ever need.

[Matt] What do you think
of this hunting blind?

[Kathy]
I think it's awesome.
I love it.

It's either a hunting blind
or a time machine.

I can't figure out
which one it is.

This hunting blind
is one of my favorite builds

I've ever done.

I think it's the coolest
hunting blind around.

All right, climb in there.

Getting Kathy inside
the blind, getting
her comfortable with

that environment is, I think,
absolutely necessary.

Kathy has showed
real promise with archery,

but I need to test her
and see if she has what
it takes

to bring down a deer.

Nice. Okay.

Here's what I want you to do.

-Okay.
-Aim a little bit higher.

Now aim for the heart.

-Nice.
-Oh! That was awesome.

Nice.

-That's really good.
-I did it.

Let's look and see
how good you did.

All right.

So your best shot
was right here.

Heart.

-Lungs which is just like
a bullseye.
-Okay.

Her shot placement is perfect.
She's not going to be sitting

in that blind very long before
a big buck comes into view

and dinner is served.

[narrator]
Seven days ago, Danny
and Kathy lacked

a sufficient protein source.

Even though their property
was teeming with deer, now...

They have a hunting blind
at the edge of their game
trail,

and Kathy has essential
archery skills,

allowing the family to procure
all of the protein they need.

All right.

Let's see how
we're looking in there.

You well know that
this cavity of gravel

-goes that way about six feet.
-Yeah.

Goes about eight feet
that way.

There's a lot of water
sitting in here.

The potential here
to provide water to anything

you ever want to do is here.

-Yeah.
-We did it.

On that note, let's put
the lid on and protect it.

All right.

I keep walking around here
looking at stuff,

and it's a lot to take in as
to what actually happened.

[Marty]
Looks a little different
with the panels on.

-Yeah, it does.
-You know how many panels
you have?

-12.
-Do you know how many watts
each one has?

Now, I know.

They told me the total thing
is 5,000.

-[Marty] Okay,
so you got 410 per.
-Right.

That's a big panel.
Here, I want you to do
something.

Put your ear on that.

What do you hear?

The ocean?

Yeah, just a little bit
of a little fan going.

That's about it.

Sounds like the ocean.

I'm going to tell you
what that noise is.

It's making power.

-Yeah.
-Okay.

You got a lot of power,
more power than you can,

than you'll ever use.
I don't care what
you built here.

[narrator] One week ago,
Danny and Kathy

had a mysteriously dry well
and a faulty power system

that couldn't run through
the night without help
from their car battery.

Now...

They have a roof catchment
system,

a rejuvenated spring
pumping hundreds of gallons

of clean water
into their cabin,

and a revamped
solar power system

providing all of
their off-grid electricity.

Are you better off now than
when we rolled in here?

I know.

It's phenomenal, the changes.

-This was not easy, right?
-No.

No, it was not.

I mean, we had a house,
but you guys came in

and helped us put
all the rest of the puzzle
pieces together

to make this a fully
operational homestead,

and we're so grateful.

We didn't even expect a tenth
of what y'all did here.

I thank you all for what
you've done.

It means a lot to us.

Absolutely.

We were just hoping to get
the medal on the roof, so...

[canned laughter]

Whoo!

[Danny]
This is something else.

It's awesome. It's amazing.
Thank you, guys.

-You're welcome.
-[Kathy]
Bottom of our hearts.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

[Kathy]
The Raneys have really
set us up to succeed.

And I couldn't be
more grateful
for the knowledge

that they've shared with us
about homesteading.

They've got decades
and decades amongst
all of them.

And to have that shared
with us,

it's an honor
and a privilege.

And we won't let them down.

[Kathy] We're determined
to succeed here.

-And they set us up
for exactly that.
-Yeah.

From this moment on,
if you guys want to be

homesteaders here in Virginia,
be my guests.

All right. Thank you, Marty.

Misty referred
to this property

as a mystery homestead.

For the last 100 years,
no one could make it
on this property.

[exhales] I'm thinking now
that two people can,

Kathy and Danny.

Power, water, gardens,
a means of hunting,

the sky's the limit.

Virginia might be for lovers,
but Virginia,

at least here,

is also for homesteaders.

-Bye, guys!
-[yodeling]

[all laughing]

[Kathy] Since the Raneys left,
things have been going
along pretty well.

We've got insulation,
we've got plumbing,

we've got our electrical,
and his dad's wood stove

has been installed.

This is our newest addition
to the homestead is Jenny.

The well system worked
perfectly.

We've got crystal clear water.

Our water catchment system,
slam full up to the top.

The garden's great.

The chicken tractor,
it's doing its job.

The chickens are great.

And we've got eggs.

We've been getting about
a dozen a day.

So this is the morning batch.

This power system
has been amazing.

Now we can actually use
the van for a vehicle

instead of the Chryslerlator.

I've been in the deer blind
a couple of times.

So I've been practicing.

Say thank you, Raneys.

If the Raneys''s hadn't come
to help us,

it would have been years
to get to the point

where we are now.

We can't thank them enough.
Priceless.