09x06 - Back in the Saddle

[bunniefuu]

This homestead is high and dry.

We can't use the water
for drinking or cooking.

The wild hogs
are extremely disruptive.

This is
a really dangerous situation.

Boars can wipe them out
in a heartbeat.

This homestead
doesn't have anything set up.

It's time to go to work.

Here we go!

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

Look at it gushing
out of the side!

The future of your homestead
is seeping out of the ground.

You will have a pond
that holds water.

Alright!

There we go!

Ready or not, ducks have landed!

Like, y ou guys have
literally put us forward 10 to 15 years.

The finish line
is in sight.

If this homestead was a horse,

I would go all in.

Deep in the heart of
East Texas' Cherokee County,

the Raneys are four days into one
of their most challenging rescues yet.

To save
the Sanders-Babbitt homestead

from succumbing
to a lack of clean water

and an inability to grow
anything on their property.

We've been fortunate enough to
piggyback off our neighbor's well.

What that means is that our
water supply is a garden hose

running across the county road.

We need help
with the water.

We need help with, uh,
getting our garden going.

I don't think we could hang on too much
longer, um, without solving these issues.

Without
the Raneys' help,

the Sanders-Babbitts won't survive
another season on the homestead,

jeopardizing their mission
to rescue at-risk horses.

That would be
really devastating to me,

to have to give up
the horse rescue.

You know, it's...
It's a real passion of mine

to be able to take in abused
and neglected horses

and give them a second chance
at a good life.

Here's where we are.

We have a 20 by 60 barn.

It's about 50% done.

Matt has built them
a storm shelter/root cellar.

Misty... 3,000 gallons
of water has disappeared.

Will another hole
manifest itself? I'm not sure.

But here's the bad news.

There is zero progress on
finding these homesteaders water.

I'm gonna feel really bad

if we leave this homestead and
they're still hooked up to that water line

coming from that contaminated
sulfur, iron well.

We gotta dig out that spring and
see exactly what it does produce.

And I have to focus on water
for the homesteaders.

What's down there?

- Looks like it's--
- There's a whole...

This is actually
on a mountaintop.

When you go down here,
it drops hundreds of feet,

there's a ravine, and it goes
back up on the other side.

Nick has boar on his property
down that hill.

The thing
about these wild pigs...

If we're gonna bring livestock
to this homestead,

boars can wipe them out
in a heartbeat.

This is
a really dangerous situation

because it's a serious threat
for these homesteaders.

I have a lot of problems.

In case you all noticed,
the pond is empty.

It drained.

And right now,
I'm starting over.

- 3,000 gallons, right?
- Yeah.

To bring water
back to the homestead,

Marty will tap the natural
spring on the property

and build a well encasement,
ensuring proper filtration,

Matt will create a hog trap
to mitigate the wild boar threat

and provide
an additional source of food,

while Misty will introduce
a multi-tiered garden,

enhancing the homestead's
sustainability.

Let's hit it.

Across the homestead,

This is how
they built the pyramids!

Alright, yeehaw!

As the finished
duck coop is moved into place,

Misty prepares the next stage in her
plan to bring life back to the homestead.

Keep coming.

There is a rough
estimate that this roof can collect

and capture around


So, let's just say it rained
a couple inches last night.

We just lost out
on 2,000 gallons of water.

So this'll be the last time
that happens on this homestead

and we're gonna
put our gutters up.

The idea is to create a system that
works with the slope of the property.

You've got the barn with
the catchment to collect water,

which will drain downhill
to the duck pond.

Then the ducks fertilize that water
and that feeds the downhill garden,

which consists
of the three sunken beds,

each lined with broken concrete
to allow the excess water to drain.

It's a pretty simple concept,
but a very big build.

I'm going for the full test.

Okay, Rowan.
We got our gutters on,

we're gonna put a downspout in,

So, I wanna dig a little trench,

put in some kind of line, and then connect
this amazing catchment system to that pond.

- Sounds good!
- Like it?

Yeah, I like it.

- Eventually, the pond will hold water before I leave.
- One way or another!

One way or another.

It was like,

here was the clay,
then the sand,

And then the hole itself
was like, right here-ish.

So, the pond's empty,

and I am trying to figure out what
to do to get this thing to hold water.

I kinda want to patch it
and fill it again,

'cause does lightning strike
twice in the same place?

Some people say it does.

I don't think it does.

I feel like this is worth
patching here with equipment.

Let's take half hour,
kind of patch this,

and then put the pond liner on
and combine the two together.

You will have a pond
that holds water.

- I'm with that.
- Which is all I care about at the end of the day.

What could go wrong?

Don't say that.

Over at the barn,

Marty takes stock of his remaining
resources to finish the project,

only to come up short.

So, we want to leave these guys with
an aesthetic, kind of a cool looking barn.

That said,

all of these first posts holding up
the roof of the barn are all 14 feet.

So, all we have left on this
homestead are these eight-footers.

I need one long post
and it's not here.

How do you stretch a log?

I'm gonna try to find center
of this log. It's about right here.

What I'm trying to do
is cut away about half...

About half of the log.

Why?

Because if I take this section
of log out, to about right here,

and then I do that with another
log, it will marry to this one,

and we'll try to fasten it
after we do that,

and then we'll extend this log
as long as we want to.

And there'll be a million people
walk by this and never know

that it once was
an eight-foot post.

We'll see
what happens.

Ready? It's through!

- All right!
- How's it look?

- Looks great!
- Look down and see if it's a straight cut.

- That's a pretty straight cut right there.
- Good?

Okay. All right, sir!

Want you to marry that up.

My dream is always just to be
an independent homesteader,

and to rely off the land
and my own labor.

Marty's definitely teaching me
some nice little shortcuts and hacks.

I think some of these skills
that we're being taught here

are definitely gonna be helpful in
continuing our homestead experiences.

- You like it?
- I like it. I like it.

That's an elegant solution.

Okay. I'm not sure anyone's
ever used the word elegant

in anything I've ever
been involved with,

but I'll take it.

You guys need to come
back like, 20 feet!

Across the homestead,

Misty and Rowan receive
a compost delivery

as they begin
to map out the garden.

When we moved up here,
the entire goal was to be self-sufficient.

It was to raise our own food,
to grow our own food,

and you can't really get
anything to grow in the sand,

and being able to have
our garden built,

and being able to get
some livestock going up here

is definitely
a dream come true for us.

So, I had
this crazy idea,

which is to create
garden bed swales

to terrace the garden coming off of
this slope, heading towards the house,

and let's create a break, and let's
try and create three different beds.

It's capturing it like a swale
with rock and cloth,

and the beds aren't filling up and becoming
swimming pools. They have drainage.

Misty will build
three sunken garden beds

along the slope of the property.

Filling each with topsoil, she'll
line the plots with broken concrete

and a thin layer of cloth
to filter out excess water.

Then, route an irrigation system

from the duck pond
to the garden,

providing composted water on tap
to keep the soil healthy and fertile.

To try and put in
a tiered garden,

to try and get it into a place
where it's not gonna just wash away,

get fertilized water all in
one is the ultimate goal.

So, if you want to work on cleaning
up, I'll work in an "X" and start digging,

- and just... We'll go for it.
- Okay, sounds good.

Let's do it!

- Where's that spring?
- Right here!

With only
three days left,

Marty turns his attention to the
homestead's dire water situation.

This homestead has
no water of its own,

but this homestead does have
a small trickle of water

that's 300 feet away
from the homestead house.

Here I go.

- How do you feel about right there, for starters?
- I like it.

Okay, guys.

Get down
to some clean clay.

Looking for water
is a lot like gold mining.

- Definitely coming from that direction.
- Should we chase that way?

I think we should.

You've got a pan,
you put it in the creek,

if you find a little bit of
color, you get all excited,

you think there's nuggets as big as
horse turds somewhere up above you.

This is the spot where it's
starting to come out.

We'll inch away a little bit,

not get too aggressive.
Here we go!

- Got some flow already!
- Whoa!

That's some serious
water right there!

Whoa! Look out, let
me dig a little bit to the right!

We found a little trickle of water.
We're thinking, is there a bigger flow?

Are we gonna hit
a stream of water?

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

- Right there!
- There we go! There we go!

Whoa! Look at
it gushing out of the side!

Let's go that direction!
Man, it's all over the place!

All right, guys.

Every direction,
we got water.

There's enough water
there to run a homestead.

There's enough water there
to rescue horses.

There's enough water there
for gardens.

The future of your homestead and
your twin boys, and maybe their twin boys,

is seeping out of the ground
right there.

- That's enough.
- That's 100% true.

Hopefully, this gives us the water we
need not just to survive, but to thrive.

We know the water was
tested and it's a good water source.

I'm gonna jump down here
to take a few measurements,

and we'll start to develop this.

If everything goes as planned, we're
gonna see water come out of this, okay?

It's a crux moment
for their future.

- Breaker is live.

Yep! Pull it!

This is bad news.

With
the armadillo hole patched,

How hard is it to fill
a frickin' hole?

Misty and Rowan
prepare to refill the duck pond

with the newly arrived
pond liner.

- Guess what arrived?
- I know! I see, the pond liner, finally!

I was starting to get
a little nervous!

- Okay, you want to help me pick this up?
- Yeah.

It's heavy.

We got the liner, we'll get it
in, we're gonna do double liner,

we're gonna fill it full of
water, call Samy back.

It's getting us really close
to being done

all the plumbing
and tying everything together.

I think start up there,
and then, like, roll it out.

- Okay.
- Then fill with water, that way it fills

- and pulls it as tight as it's ever gonna get.
- Okay.

Let's see what happens!

Unroll?

Oh, my God, it's so heavy!

Okay, so it's really long.

Let's unfold it and see...

And then we're gonna
double line this thing, right?

- Right.
- We'll have the clay layer,

and we'll have two liners.

If it doesn't hold water
after that, I give up.

I give up, too.
We'll just backfill it.

I'll turn it into a sandbox
for the kids or something.

So, at this point, we have a clay
liner, we have the first plastic liner,

and then we're gonna
put a third liner in.

We're gonna double up
on our poly.

So, I'm pretty confident
with three different liners,

we should be able to hold water.

Did you ever think
you'd see me again?

Not that quick.

Let me go light it up.

We're both super bummed
about the pond having drained and

I think we were both, kind of,
at the end of our rope.

The water is holding in the pond.
The pond liner is doing its job.

I think it's fantastic.
It's wonderful.

Whoo!
Samy saves the day!

- Well, I...
- Thank you so much.

Are we gonna go to lunch and come
back, and this is gonna be empty?

- I don't think so.
- I don't think so.

This is frickin' hot.

- Almost there.
- Almost there.

Hopefully, we show up in the
morning, this pond still has water in it,

and we can get ducks.

But I gotta tell you,
Texas is kicking my butt.

So, up here, you can see
there's a really nice overview

of this, uh, valley leading
down to the creek down here.

Across
the homestead...

This gets really
steep over here.

- I had no idea it dropped off like this.
- Yeah.

Nick leads Matt
to the site of his trail camp

to investigate the extent
of his wild boar problem.

Let's see what we got

It looks like
we got a deer there.

Whoa, coyote.

Coyote, yep.

- Piggy, piggy, piggy.
- Oh.

- I mean, there it is.
- Yep.

What do you call them here?
Are they like... They're, like, feral pigs.

- Feral hogs, yeah.
- Feral hogs.

They're well known to,
um, root up pastures.

They root under the fences and use their
noses to tear up the fences from the bottom.

And so, they're, they're
all-around destructive.

An estimated
three million feral hogs

currently wreak havoc
across the state of Texas.

Weighing hundreds of pounds
and sporting razor-sharp tusks,

these aggressive,
unpredictable predators

can attack humans
and animals, alike.

As their population increases exponentially,
due to unchecked, frequent breeding,

the number of violent, and even
fatal, encounters continues to rise.

I saw, I mean,
families of pigs.

And the thing is a bulldozer that
can just come in and destroy livestock,

ruin gardens, and those are the things
that I'm actually worried about the most.

Tapping into this resource
is something that

I definitely encourage more of.
But while I'm here, I don't know, man.

Maybe we try out a trap.

Uh, I'm totally down for that.

We have a lot
of stuff to do.

But if we can squeeze in a trap,

to make it easier for you to be
able to get food on your property,

- we'll do it.
- Sounds good.

- All right, man.
- All right.

Plant, let's make
another one, 36 inches.

Over at the barn,

Marty scrambles to put
the finishing touches

on a vital addition
to any horse stable.

Okay, so now, we're
standing in the tack room, right?

You'll come in here,
you'll hang your saddles,

all things related
to equestrian.

Get them out of the hot sun.
Leather cracks.

We might have some air movement.
You can see, right here, there's a window.

So, the idea here is to
put plywood on the outside,

make a really tight floor,

and a couple of barn doors
on the front.

We want this thing to be
moose proof, mouse proof.

I don't want anything
big or little getting in here.

Once we do that, they're back
in the saddle again.

Have I made a mistake?

We have a long way
to go on the barn.

And now, time's running out.
I can see the finish line.

And I have yet
to address the water.

Across
the homestead...

Gotten to a place
where I'm getting really excited.

Misty prepares the garden's sunken
beds for their new source of fertilizer.

You're looking at an
infinite amount of fertilized water.

Everything is just gravity fed,

downhill from the barn, the
pond, and then, the gardens.

An endless supply
that will water the garden.

With this garden, I threw a bunch of
different gardening techniques at it.

We have the tiered garden. We have
sunken-in beds that keep the plants cool.

They retain the water better.

There's this drainage system
all underground,

and it's got this forever
supply of fertilized water.

When it comes to the world's
most perfect garden,

it looks a little
something like this.

We're lining the bottom of these beds
with a couple inches of broken concrete,

and we're gonna line them
with this weed barrier.

Hey, Misty. This is great.

- Do you like it?
- Yeah.

I do like it. This is great.

Having that garden out there means
less money spent at the grocery store.

It means less time spent
away from the home.

Hopefully, this garden is
the end to my brown thumb.

Misty has helped provide me
with a solution for that,

so that I no longer
have that issue.

It works really well.
It's really fast.

And the concept
and the idea will work.

- Great.
- So, no more

four or five failed attempts
at gardening.

It does look good. It is,
it is aesthetically pleasing.

It will be nice to be able to walk out my
back door and have this beautiful garden.

And hopefully, you know,
by tomorrow morning,

- we're planting, which is really exciting.
- Yeah.

- This is gonna be fun.
- Okay.

- Ready?
- Yeah.

When it comes to growing anything
in this sand, it's a literal sandbox.

There isn't one organic, at
all, and that's why they've tried

three different gardening
techniques, and they've all failed.

So, we've got this nice, rich,
loamy, black-compost soil,

and they'll be able
to grow anything.

It's a long ways
down here.

With their presence
confirmed through trail cams,

Matt presents his plan for
dealing with the threat of wild boars.

So, we saw a lot
of action on the trail cam.

You wanna eat these animals?

A really great way to
hunt them is just trap them.

So, really all we need is just
a bunch of fortified-up T-posts,

and then we'll get
some cattle panel,

and we'll make a door
and get it all situated.

We're gonna build it
on this side of the creek.

You'll be able to see it from
the top, check it real easy.

All right, sounds good.

Knowing that there's
so many hogs here,

I think it's gonna step up what I'm
gonna do to help these homesteaders,

and take this pig population
way more serious.

Matt will build a


at the base of the property, using sturdy
cattle panel fencing for the perimeter.

He'll then install
a one-way door,

ensuring the hogs
will be trapped upon entry,

keeping the wild animals from
wreaking havoc on the homestead.

This trap is 18 feet wide,
but the fence is only about 4 feet tall,

because it's meant
to just trap pigs.

If other animals get in there,
like, a deer,

they're gonna have no trouble
popping right out of there.

That looks good.

We're just basically
making a circle.

When we put this T-post in,
you wanna have it this way.

That way, all of our fencing
is on the inside of every post,

and the post is gonna
hold it from being pushed.

If it was on the other side...

- Could just rip right off through here.
- Exactly.

So, I'm gonna keep going.

You the man.

The hog trap is gonna
help us a lot on this property.

Not only is it gonna help us
get rid of some of these hogs,

which are a very destructive
to the property,

but it's also gonna give us an almost
year-round source of food, as well.

It's in a place where all I gotta do
is sort of walk to the edge of the hill

and look through my binoculars
and check it every day,

to see whether
there's anything in it.

I'm super excited to
put it to good use.

The circle shape is key,
because when they go in there,

it's what's gonna make them kinda
make the rounds, you know, and--

As opposed to barreling head first and
battering and ramming through the fence.

Exactly, yeah.

- Got the post set, it's--
- It's very circular.

Pretty good framework. I think that's a good
start to build off the rest of the trap.

Across the property,

Misty and Rowan introduce the
newest residents to their upgraded home.

Right, there we go.

Okay.

We had so many
setbacks with the pond.

The fact that we captured


Once the pond was working
and holding water,

everything else was
kind of a no-brainer.

- Okay, ready or not, ducks
have landed. - I love it.

I love it. It was so
worth the effort.

In the end, the pond
is holding water.

You have Indian Runners,
and you have Pekins,

so good for meat, good for eggs.

- Your never-ending water supply off the barn.
- Love it.

Every time it rains, you have
your thousands of gallons of water.

In no time at all, this
is gonna become fertilized water

- that, obviously, feeds the garden.
- Right.

This is a self-contained system.

And everything, it's like
a waterfall effect,

starting at the barn,
pond, garden.

One week ago,
Rowan and Nick's homestead

suffered from inhospitable soil,
and a severe lack of usable water.

Today, for less than $900,

Misty has built
a multipurpose duck pond

utilizing recycled water runoff
from the newly-constructed barn,

a coop to provide shade
and comfort for the ducks,

and an irrigation system, feeding
composted pond water directly to

the brand-new garden, creating
a self-sustaining ecosystem.

Ducks mean meat. They
mean eggs. They mean fertilizer.

And those are 3 things that
are absolutely 100% necessary

to us living a more
self-sufficient, off-grid lifestyle.

So, like, just having you guys
out here, the extra set of hands,

and the work y'all have put
in, it has pushed us forward.

Take it wherever
you need to take it.

- Sweaty hug?
- Yeah, sweaty hug.

- Sweaty hug.

Okay, should we
let them kind of relax?

- Yeah.
- And give them some space?

- Yeah.
- Okay.

What do you see?

Across the homestead,

Marty, Nick, and Dennis
examine the state of the water hole.

Wow, that's a lot
of water. That's...

That's honestly more
than I was expecting.

This is amazing.

Now that we know
we have a water source,

the idea is to develop it.

Marty will construct a
well out of a seven-foot-long PVC pipe

and repurposed plastic tank.

He'll place it into the water, and
backfill it with sand and stones

to create a natural
filtration system.

Then, connect a pump, and drop
a line from the well to the cabin,

providing the homestead with
an endless source of clean water.

All you.

I just got done cutting a section
of pipe 16 inches in diameter.

So, now, I'm gonna
cut slats in it.

That work?

I like it. Yeah.

And then, cut the ends
out of a 55-gallon barrel.

We're gonna haul that
down to the spring.

Precious cargo.

Now, we have to drop that
in the hole, let water get in...

Hang on, look out please.

It's hard. You guys have to
get out, get the barrel on.

By sliding the barrel
over the top of it.

That would leave me with
about four or five inches,

all the way around,
to fill with pea gravel

and ensure a filter system.

There's your spring water,
out here. See that?

So, it's gotta go through two
feet of sand, a foot of rock,

and then it bleeds
through the saw cuts.

But then, it hits even
another filter, right here,

the four inches of final
filter, then it enters this.

And by the time this all settles
out, that should be crystal clear.

So, we'll carry this, uh, same
system on around the entire, uh, well.

And then, we'll introduce a pump
and try to move this water to the cabin.

It's 10-and-a-half gallons per foot,
so there's over 100 gallons of water

- That's cool.
- that you'll have on-call at all times.

- Nice.
- We're down to 24 hours.

- Yes, sir. Let's get it done.
- Let's go.

While Marty finishes

the natural air-conditioning
for the horse barn,

We have a 23-foot long,


The air will actually from
this fan, go down the pipe,

up the vertical pipes,

the bottom side of a horse.

Mare-conditioning.

Okay, here we go.

Matt and Nick
gather materials

to corral the threat
of wild hogs on the property.

We got our circle,
now we just need to line it

with something that's heavy duty

and this cattle panel
is the stuff.

So let's get to it man,
let's start fencing this in.

Sounds good.

This trap consists of really
heavy duty cattle panels, thick wire.

That's all it really takes
to be able to

hold those pigs in long enough
for you to be able to

harvest them
and put food on the table

So this, right here,
is the door.

Let's see how this fits.

Ooh, careful.

Okay, something
like that, right?

Something like that,
let's wire it up.

Boom-shack-a-lack.

Okay, let's bring
some bait in here.

We need to get these
feral hogs used to the idea

that there's a new fence
in the area.

You want those pigs
to get comfortable,

and then, once you start to see them
on that trail-cam coming in and out.

That's when you know you
have them, and you set the trap.

The next day,
you'll have yourself a hog.

Here's the secret ingredient,
one beard hair.

All right,

All right.

- All right, you like this man?
- I love it.

Seven days ago,
Nick and Rowan's property

was overrun
with aggressive feral hogs,

threatening the safety
of their family and livestock.

Today, they'll be able
to humanely trap

these dangerous predators,
and utilize them

as a critical protein source,

while also protecting
their home, for only $335.

Having the hog trap
definitely contributes

to our being able to, uh,
be self-sufficient and, uh,

having the Raneys and their
knowledge and expertise,

and extra, extra hands around
has made a lot of these

projects that I never could have
been able to accomplish by myself,

you know, feasible and
practical, and it really feels good.

I'd love to see something
get trapped in there

while we're here, but honestly
this is the first step

and if it takes
three weeks or a month,

- it's gonna be worth it.
- Oh, definitely.

- We'll see what happens.
- Sounds good.

Across the property...

Okay,
this is the fun part.

... Misty and Rowan get to
work, planting in the newly-finished

multi-tiered garden.

Lot of work to get
to this moment,

but we're gonna start planting.

Awesome.

This is literally one of the
biggest builds I think I've ever done.

Capturing the water
from this massive barn,

divert it into a duck pond,

let it fill up, and then
watering a garden below it.

There were so many variables,
and so many connecting pieces,

and then to try
and pull it all together,

and have it solve
all the problems

was really ambitious.

But to pull it off is,
you know, pretty epic.

Okay, so this
is running from the pond.

- Right?
- Right.

Okay, so let's see,
let's test this thing.

So, turn it on.

So do we see water
coming out of the soaker hose?

Look! Look, Rowan,
we have water!

- Woo-hoo!
- Yay!

Yay!

It's working!

You can see all the bubbles.

When it comes to growing food,

I mean, this is
as good as it gets.

One week ago,
the Sanders-Babbitt homestead

suffered from unhealthy soil,
and a lack of usable water.

Today, for less than $1200,

Misty has crafted
a multi-tiered garden,

utilizing composted water
from the duck pond,

breathing life back
into the homestead,

and ensuring food
can be grown year-round.

This garden attempt, hopefully,
is not going to be like our previous ones.

And it won't just flounder and fail,
and we'll actually be able to have food.

Misty has taught me enough
about how this garden works.

I think that I can do it now.

I'm super excited to be able to get
our first harvest out of it, I can't wait.

I'm so happy, thanks for, uh,

I love it.

You know
what's going on down there?

I've seen some of it,
but not all of it.

At the cabin, Marty, Nick,
Rowan, and Nick's stepfather, Dennis,

discuss the final steps in the
homestead's quest for water.

Tell her what's
down there, please.

So we've got
our spring well dug in.

- Okay.
- We've got a pump

set down there,
and we're about to try

to turn it on and see if
it'll move water up the hill.

Dennis and Nick worked
overnight to dig a 300-foot trench,

put a water line
and conduit in that trench.

So now it's time
to test the system.

If everything goes as planned, we're
gonna see water come out of this, okay?

- Okay.
- All right.

So you're
gonna go down there,

and you're going to make sure that
when we throw power to that pump,

that nothing fails down there.

Yes, sir.

We'll see you later.
Big moment.

- Bye, Dennis.
- Bye.

It's that moment on a
homestead, whether you make it...

or break it,

and if nothing comes
out of this hose...

have we truly helped them?

It's a crux moment
for their future.

All right, I'm
gonna go turn the breaker on,

we'll see if this pump works.

All right.

Breaker is live.

There's nothing
coming out of here.

How y'all coming down there?

Pump appears to be running.

All right, well, we still
don't have water up here.

Oh, pull it.

We got a spark here.

- k*ll it?

Shut the breaker off, oh boy.

This is bad news.

All right, so working in Texas with
all these local, amazing contractors,

they said, "hey, when you're
handling that metal, look out,

cause you're probably gonna find
a poisonous snake, or a scorpion."

Sure enough, look at this guy,

He's getting ready
to sting me.

On day one we've discovered

that the homesteaders
rescue animals.

When it comes to this scorpion,

we need to help
every animal on this property.

I wanna save this guy, how
do I do it without getting stung?

There we go.

I think I hear something,
that's ironic.

His favorite band?

Scorpions.

Here's a nice little stump
to crawl under, buddy.

Come on.

There we go.

You didn't even jump?

What's going on?

I'm having to take
the whole circuit apart.

Hopefully,
it didn't burn out the switch.

You wanna go down
and help him, or...

Yeah.

Hey, Dennis, Nick is on his
way down there to give you a hand. Copy?

Copy.

Over the radio I hear,
"there's sparks, things are melting!"

This is bad news.

So we hit a little bit
of a snag with the wire box.

The float switch must
have been hooked up incorrectly.

Green, white,

hot, and then ground. Yep.

That looks correct

I've cut into the line,
and I'm gonna change it out,

so hopefully,
it'll be able to hold up.

I'm ready now.

All right, turning it on.

- It's on.
-We have power down here. It's rotating.

- All right,

let's see if it's pumping
water up the hill.

It just took drag, so
that means it's pumping something.

Oh, yeah, air's coming.

Well, it's
drawing water down there

We got it. Boom.

We've got water, yes, sir.

Look at this!

- All right.
- Love it.

Ah, it's nice and cool. Ah.

Wow.

Does that taste good?

- You gotta taste it.
- Yeah? Let's see.

Ah,
that's so nice.

The thing that
we needed the most

was the ability to capture
and use that clean water.

It means that we don't have to run
off of our neighbors well anymore.

It also means that we have, you know, good,
clean water in the house, and honestly,

I'm really looking forward

One week ago, Nick and Rowan's
only source of water was undrinkable.

Now, they've tapped into
a natural spring

on the property that'll provide

a constant stream of clean,
life-sustaining water.

I think we might've helped you
get it this far,

I'm gonna, I'm gonna
hand the baton

- over to you.

And you've gotta get it
from here, to your house.

- That's the easy part.
- Because,

I'm not done with the barn.

-So, I'm gonna leave you here
-Okay.

- With a miracle in Texas.
- Yeah.

- Amen.
- Thank you.

- Thank you!
- Good job.

- All right.
- I love it.

Come, come. Come.

Across the property...

Good boy.

There we go.

Marty, Rowan, and Nick
move the horses into their new stable.

You see anything unique
about this horse barn?

I like that we added
the natural touches

with the trees, and the,
uh, the separations here

Come down to this first stall,
follow me please.

Every single house in Texas
has this little box

What?
The air conditioners?

Oh, air conditioning.

Then why can't a barn
have mare-conditioning?

Put your hand right here.

Ah, I love it.

I think
this guy likes it.

We showed up
in Texas, and their dream

was to rescue horses,
but they had no horse barn.

Now, they have housing
for five horses.

Automated water.

There's no doubt in my mind that they
are on their way to fulfilling that dream.

Seven days ago,
the Sanders-Babbitt family

lacked suitable housing
for the rescue horses.

Today, the remodeled barn
contains five stalls,

a natural
air-conditioning system

and a large sealed tack room,

expanding the family's ability to
save horses destined for k*ll auctions.

Look, look at all of the horses

standing next to the air tubes.

They're, they're already

That's all
I have to see.

I'm gonna find my kids
and meet you up at the truck.

- Okay.
- All right.

Never on a homestead, ever,
did I spend so much time

working for an animal,
instead of the homeowners.

But by helping my animals,
you are helping me.

Well, that's nice of you
to say, I'm very happy

that the dream
of rescuing horses

is now a reality.

Marty did
absolutely, uh,

help find my passion
for this again,

and to be able
to help these animals,

and because that's really
what I want to do.

And I'm forever grateful
to him for it.

Your family's one of those
that has helped build America,

and you help
other people

to achieve their dreams.

I have never seen people
work so hard for other people.

I'm extremely grateful
for the Raneys.

It give me peace of mind
to know that my grandchildren

are going to grow up and be
fun-loving boys in a safe environment.

This 12-and-a-half acre homestead
in Texas is truly set up for success.

Till next time, honey.

You guys are welcome.

You're saying thank you
so much, but you're really,

- you're really welcome.
- Thank you.

We found these homesteaders
facing hurdle after hurdle

after hurdle, but we got them
around the first corner.

Finish line is in sight,
if this homestead was a horse,

I would go all in.

- Bye, guys!
- Bye!

- Bye!
- Take care!

Things have been going pretty
great since the Raneys have left.

The spring water system
is completely set up and running.

We're able to drink our own
clean water, shower with clean water.

The barn
has helped already,

I hope to help save at least
five horses a year from auctions.

Our garden beds...

I joked before
that I have a brown thumb,

now I am more confident
in my ability to grow food.

Our duck ponds.

Ducks are absolutely
enjoying life.

- Thank you, Raneys, for everything.
- Thank you.

We need the Raneys,
we need them bad,

we need somebody,
we need some help.

The bear was
about ten feet that way.

- It charged me.

Solar batteries
off-gassing so bad

A couple of these
batteries have failed.

I can hear 'em cooking, it's
dangerous. Get out of here.

Your homestead
is in the middle

of forest fire alley.

We came to the right place,

but did we get here in time?

Thank you, our homestead now will
be something that we can be proud of.