said they're considering moving
to more remote parts of the country.
America's biggest cities
are experiencing a mass exodus.
Our homestead
is beautiful on the outside,
but we're in over our heads.
This homestead is becoming
a disaster in front of my eyes.
In the past year
Americans have fled cities
to pursue a simpler life
off-grid.
We are teaching
our kids lessons in life
that they don't get in school.
But the hardship
caused by the pandemic
taught one thing.
- I felt like I knew what I
was doing, but I'm-- - Yeah.
I was clearly wrong.
New homesteaders better
be prepared to survive the long haul.
I do worry about making it
through this winter.
On this season of
Homestead Rescue...
This is the opportunity
to change someone's life.
The Raneys turn fear...
They've issued a tsunami warning
for the south side of Kauai.
Watch out!
To faith.
This goldmining is insane.
- Oh, my God. Are you kidding me?
- There's gold there.
Bringing big gear...
Watch yourself!
Oh, my gosh.
The whole thing's gonna tip!
And all new ingenuity.
We can actually turn this
from junky boat
to the world's greatest
turkey coop.
They give
failing homesteads...
- Oh, wow.
- Disgusting.
The tools they need
to not only survive...
Oh, yeah!
Everything wants to sink.
But to thrive.
Very good!
In seven days what you did here
is like a miracle.
If we can pull
that off, that's impressive.
And on this episode...
We started off with 35 chickens,
we are down to nine now.
Predators, they are really
wreaking havoc on our livestock.
Got him.
If we can't get help,
this is it.
This family has
the biggest challenges
that I've ever faced
on any homestead.
I grew up
in a suburban neighborhood.
I've never done anything
like this before.
They have tornadoes
that circle this homestead.
We just got
into the corner of our bedroom
and prayed for our lives.
I have to make
this homestead work.
I'm not leaving them here
without a storm shelter.
The truck's pulling out
without Misty.
He's been struggling
for so long.
You could spend 100,000 dollars
on a kiln that dries lumber
or use homestead skills
and know how.
All right, kids.
Alabama. None of us have
ever set foot in Alabama
till this morning.
This homestead sits in
the northern part of Alabama
and it's rich in timber,
look at these forests.
The climate and this landscape
is not what I expected at all.
This isn't the farmland part
of Alabama.
You just look at this forest
and look at the old farms
and you immediately get
transported back in time.
The Raneys trek
to a remote homestead
outside of Remlap, Alabama.
Far from the low-lying cotton
fields in the southern part of the state.
Remlap sits along the edge
of the Cumberland plateau,
a rugged 450 mile stretch
of timbered high country,
known for its
coal rich mountains.
Settled by hearty homesteaders
in the 1800s,
the Cumberland region
is plagued by rocky soil,
tornado swarms
and abundant predators.
And today the Raneys receive
an emergency call
from a seventh generation
homesteading family
on the brink of losing
their legacy.
- Hey, I'm Anthony.
- And I'm Tamra.
We live on our
homestead in Blount County, Alabama.
We have been on the homestead
for about three and a half years.
Between me,
my family and my dad,
it's about 80 acres
we're sitting on.
It's been
a major learning curve.
I felt like I knew
what I was doing,
- but I'm--
- Yeah.
I was clearly wrong.
We have a pond
that started leaking,
so I bring in 200 loads of dirt,
thinking I'm gonna
pack it up on the side
of this dam
to make it quit leaking.
And all I did was bring in
a bunch of churt.
So I have a rocky hill that
just doesn't produce anything.
We do have tornado season.
Just a month and a half ago
we had one come through.
We just got into the corner of our
bedroom and prayed for our lives.
Keeping our chickens
safe is the biggest concern we have.
We do have an enclosure,
but they make their way out.
Predators, they're really
wreaking havoc on our livestock.
Guys, me asking you for help is
the last act of a desperate man.
Looks like we made it.
- The place is beautiful.
- Look at this house.
Talk about old-school.
They're flagging us in.
From Alaska to Alabama.
Roll Tide. Come on in, brother.
Marty Raney here.
- I'm Anthony.
- Anthony.
Tamra.
And I'm Michael.
- Michael. Nice to meet you, guys.
- Nice to meet you.
This is all mountains and hills
and craziness. It's wild country.
It is, yep.
- How big is the property?
- 110 acres.
Wow. And you live here too?
I live here. I live in the
pasture, fenced property.
So, tell us a little bit
about why we're here.
We're just at a point
where if we can't get help,
- this is it.
- It's depressing.
We just celebrated our
ten year wedding anniversary.
We were 17 years old,
right out of high school,
met up together.
We were living about 30
minutes away in Pinson, Alabama.
More of a city life.
More houses around.
You can't be on your back porch
without your neighbor catching you.
Three years ago,
Anthony and Tamra
traded the suburbs
for a new life
on the remote 80 acre property
that's been in his family
for over 200 years.
The best I can remember
Grandpa talking about it was
his Great-great-grandmother
stuck claim to it through Grandma
riding a horse in about 1820.
It's been a long time.
I'm the seventh generation. My
daughter is the eighth generation.
You know, like all kids do,
they want to experience life and
see what it's about for a minute.
And you realize that
there's just something here
that, you know,
you can't find anywhere else.
I mean, the dream was to be
as self-sufficient as we can.
His passion was
building furniture.
So, I mean, him building
furniture and being self-sustained.
We felt like we would be there
by now.
It's not that easy.
This season we
started off with 35 chickens,
And I think we are down
to nine now.
Actually saw some
feathers over there this morning,
which makes me think that
another chicken got eaten.
That's a big hit.
Financially
and to the dinner table,
because we do grow the chickens
to be supported off of the chickens.
We do not have a garden.
I did spices out of
a little raised bed
this past year to try to get
Tamra's fingers dirty a little bit.
Tamra had zero
off-grid experience.
I've never lived this way
before, I know nothing about it.
I think if I am able to help, it will
take a ton of pressure off of Anthony.
My dad, he's managed
this property
for a long time, but two years
ago he had open heart surgery.
He almost croaked on us.
So taking care of the 80
acres is on my shoulders.
And it's gotten
overwhelming for me.
It's tough for me
to watch Anthony struggle
mentally and physically.
We might have to
move off the property.
It would be detrimental
to our marriage
and for our family.
That would be
a worst case scenario.
I just would be absolutely lost.
It's the family legacy.
It's history.
It's a way of life that I love.
And I hate not being able to
make it what it needs to be.
I have to make
this homestead work.
I think it'd be amazing
to look around
and really see why we're here.
- Okay.
- And just try and figure out where to start.
Cool.
- Let's do it.
- Yeah, here we go.
All right.
Anthony has a lot of skills.
His Dad's just across the way,
a sixth generation homesteader.
There's plenty
of competent, smart,
hardworking, talented
people here.
Why am I here? The jury's out.
There's some big trees here.
- That's pretty cool.
- Yeah.
All right, so what are we
looking at here?
So I started with this.
This was supposed to be
the center
of the homestead. That's
the only thing I owned
right out to buy the saw mill.
- What's you sell?
- I sold my truck.
She'll cut 36 inches wide
and 27 feet long.
Plus you have
all these hardwoods.
Yes, very serious.
The woodworking
would be my biggest business
on the homestead. But the
biggest thing that is keeping me
from doing it 100 percent
is the financial side of life.
Working a nine to five,
being an electrician.
Doing everything I need to do
to support my family.
Let's go take a closer look
at that shop.
All right.
So, you built this?
Me and my Dad built this.
- And when did you build this?
- Four years ago.
You poured the slab
and everything?
Poured the slab
and everything.
If you spend
the working hours of a day
in town making a living,
you've got that much lost
or downtime on your homestead.
And Anthony is that victim.
I'm here to help you
with what you need.
So in a perfect world, what
would this homestead look like?
A centralized location
to where it's
this is what we're doing
in this spot.
And getting the livestock
local to me.
I mean, it's a lot of work,
walking across 60, 80 acres
just to feed a chicken.
Anthony is overwhelmed.
His dream is to stay at home, mill
the timber from his own property,
and make furniture.
The only way to help this guy
is to get all of the eggs
in one basket,
not spread out over 100 acres.
In the time that you and I
will work together,
hopefully we can progress
this homestead to a place where
I don't hear you say the word,
you know, "depressed".
- Fair enough?
- Yes, sir.
All right.
- Anthony seems super overwhelmed.
- Yes.
- Why?
- Well, he does everything himself because
I haven't really...
Honestly, been helping,
and I feel like now is my time
to sink my teeth into
something to where I can help
and further this homestead
for our family.
Doing it with him and not
just standing, watching.
- Yeah.
- I don't have any experience in this type of stuff.
So my brain's an open sponge.
Like, I wanna absorb
all this knowledge from you.
Especially, you know,
even with gardening.
- Yeah.
- Like, I don't have that much experience.
- Do you have a garden here?
- We had one last year,
but we had a lot of critters
that were getting the food
and with the weather
fluctuating as you can see,
- it's hard to manage it.
- Mm-hmm.
But I would love something
that we could grow year round.
Anthony kind of seems like
he's super capable, right?
Do anything. And sometimes
with that type of
personality, you just
kind of let them.
And I think that's what
Tamra's done.
- So I hear the words "depressed", "overwhelmed".
- Yes.
How close are we to that moment?
- Did we make it just in time, you think?
- Yes. Oh, yes.
- Are we here just in time?
- Yes.
- This is like a little bit of a walk.
- Yes.
- Yes, yes, it is.
- I'm walking over with Michael
to go check out
his livestock situation,
and as soon as we kind of
get to the farm,
chickens start running up to us.
- So, the chickens are out?
- Well.
They're not supposed to be out.
- Oh, they aren't?
- No.
Well, look. They're just
jumping right in there.
Well, that's one of the
problems that we've got here.
These chickens aren't free
range, they are a total free for all.
And it is the reason why
so many have gone missing.
Are you able to, like,
take care of them?
Like, is this the place
for these chickens?
You know, it could be,
but I think Anthony, you know, he
enjoys the chickens, he loves the chickens.
So, you guys are both kind of
just splitting time
- raising these chickens?
- Yeah.
But they live way over there, so, I
mean, they're not gonna be able to
come out here and...
You know, if there's a coyote
- or a bobcat...
- Correct.
Or whatever's picking off these
animals, they're not gonna be able to sh**t
a g*n into the ground,
- or, you know...
- Yeah.
- They're not gonna be able to do anything.
- That's correct.
Michael has been doing
the lion share of the work,
taking care of these animals
and all the livestock,
but we need to get those
chickens closer to Anthony's house,
where those animals
can now be safer.
- What did you find out?
- There's a huge predation problem here.
I looked at the chickens
over at the Dad's place.
They used to have a lot more. It
sounds like it's getting kind of hard
for Michael to manage
all these animals.
And so, we probably need
to move these animals
onto this part of the homestead,
but we need to talk to Anthony.
See how he feels about maybe having
some neighbors come over to stay forever.
Tamra really wants to garden,
and she wants to do it year round.
What if that happens here?
Talking about
a potential greenhouse.
I think it's really important
to them,
and we should put in the time,
maybe right off the bat.
Anthony is a hard worker.
But I think he's overwhelmed
at how daunting
all of the work is.
Getting to a place where he can make
furniture, tables, mill special cut lumber,
and stay home
and make a living right here.
And trust me, if we get this guy up
on a step, he's gonna be unstoppable.
Not unless
we give him a hand though.
To ensure that the
Siefkers' 200 year old homestead
remains viable
for generations to come,
Marty will construct
an upgraded woodworking shop
off of Anthony's existing barn.
To prevent the loss of any more
valuable livestock to predators,
Matt will move the Siefkers'
free range chicken flock
to an upgraded coop closer
to Anthony and Tamra's home.
And Misty will construct
a greenhouse
using upcycled windows,
that will allow the Siefkers to
grow their own food year round.
Yeah, we've gotta get to work.
- Let's do it.
- Okay.
The Raneys have just
seven days with a small build crew
to revive the Siefkers'
homesteading dreams.
Or their centuries old family
legacy will come to an end.
One thing's really
really apparent.
There's a lot of work
to be done here, okay?
- This guy is a worker.
- Yes.
I can see it pretty clear that
you're leading the expedition here.
- Yeah.
- And if we can get you happy,
if we can get you reinspired,
then I think it's gonna ripple
effect down through the family.
Your wife and Dad.
- We wanna help you help your family.
- Yeah.
You have a beautiful
piece of property.
I think it'd be amazing to give
you a garden, a greenhouse,
to give you something
because I think
- that genuine want and desire to help your husband...
- Right.
- Is true and you're on the right path.
- Yeah.
I think Anthony does need help.
What do you guys think about in the name
of maybe trying to rescue these chickens,
potentially bringing the chickens
over onto your guys' property.
- I love it.
- That's a good game plan.
- It is, I like it.
- He's been struggling for so long.
And now we have it.
We have the help
that we've been needing forever.
So, I just want to say
thank you.
We haven't done anything yet.
There's a lot of good
that can happen here.
But it's gonna take all of us.
That said, we'll see you
in the morning.
- Awesome.
- Fair enough.
- Bye.
- Take care.
- Stay warm.
- Thank you.
On the Siefkers' 80
acre homestead in Ramlap, Alabama
Marty identifies a problem that
could prove a blessing in disguise.
Looks like it's about
to tip over right now.
She is. She's got a lean to her.
A little problematic, it wants to go
that way and it wants to go that way.
- Right.
- Yes.
Huh. Look at this thing.
It's dangerous.
- It's a dangerous tree.
- Well, sh**t.
We've got to bring it down
now. If I don't do it,
the next tornado, the next
wind storm, the next ice storm
and this big oak could come crashing
down on their one and only shop.
Let's go.
We're gonna go for it.
Hiya, hiya.
Give me some.
Here we go.
Stay back here, stay back here.
If I don't think, if I act
like a cowboy
and don't respect all the
dangers and all the signs,
something could go
terribly wrong.
Moment of truth.
There it goes, there it goes,
there it goes.
There it goes.
Hiya, hiya!
Hot dog, hot dog.
Ah...
Hot dog.
It's gonna be pretty
inside there.
That's beautiful white oak.
Beautiful white oak.
Every bit of 200 years old.
Such a relief,
that's a big relief, a lot of
weight off the shoulders,
because every storm that
comes through this property,
that's my biggest concern, it's
the top breaking out of that tree
and damaging my shop.
Do you want to just cut
this thing, take it with the axe
- and go to the mill with it?
- Yes.
- Can the mill take this big?
- Oh, yeah.
Ready!
When a tree is blown
over by a storm or a tornado,
it's called a windfall.
Well, we cut it down
with a chainsaw safely.
But it's still a windfall.
This thing has value,
and if it is what I think it is,
he'll mill this, he'll slab it,
and it's gonna turn into
a cash cow.
Let's get this party going.
This is a huge load
off the old shoulders.
Over at the main house
Misty and Tamra begin plotting
the ideal location for the
homestead's new greenhouse.
- I kind of like how close we are to your house.
- Right.
And just the proximity,
it's all about
kind of reining Anthony in,
and the only way to do that
is to bring the animals, the
plants, everything closer together.
- Exactly.
- So why have the greenhouse be a mile away?
- It kind of dawned on me, like I want to be closer.
- Mm-hmm.
So I'm thinking like kind of
in this zone.
- Yeah.
- What are you thinking?
I never would have thought to put a
greenhouse right here but it makes sense.
There's the sun, it's
really close to the house.
- Right now you can feel that warmth...
- Yeah.
And so if we were a greenhouse,
we would just be charging.
Just have that solar charge
and just be warming up
- right now. And it's early.
- Yeah.
So just capturing all this warmth,
all this sun, is what we're gonna do.
Anthony and Tamra, they're
spread way too thin.
It's all about getting this
homestead more manageable,
and I think a great way to start
is just getting a greenhouse
right out the front door.
- So I'm thinking ten by 14.
- Okay.
- So this is 14 feet right here.
- Okay.
So why don't you
just grab a stake.
And then once you've got
that guy in,
come pound this stake in.
Good. So that's the spot-ish.
This is your new greenhouse,
how does it look?
It looks awesome.
- I'm... Yeah, you can leave.
- Okay.
- Bye.
- You're welcome.
♪ La la la la la ♪
Here in Alabama,
they have these crazy
temperature swings.
Hot, hot summers, cold winters.
And in order to grow year round
you have to be able to deal with that.
I want to construct it in a way
- where it kind of matches your house.
- Yeah!
Misty will build a
ten foot by 14 foot greenhouse
inspired by the Siefkers' home,
insulated with upcycled windows
and ventilated by
hinged roof pitches.
First things first,
let's scratch out a level spot.
- Cool.
- And then put in the foundation and go.
- Awesome.
- Ready?
- Yes.
- Okay.
Misty's plan for
the design of the greenhouse
to match our house,
it's almost like
a mini playhouse.
I mean, it's pretty cool.
New greenhouse spot.
On a historic site
at the Homestead,
Matt and Michael brainstorm
ideas for a possible coop.
This is a different
part of the property
- that we haven't really been to.
- Yes.
But this is, this is
your property.
There's a whole,
there's a whole house here?
I mean, what's the story
on this part?
So this is a third home that was
in the original footprint from 1840.
- Wow.
- So my great-great grandmother was born in this house.
This lot right here
is the original homestead.
This is the, part
of the homestead.
This is part of the homestead.
This is where every memory
that I can recall as a child,
was on this lot right here.
It's cool to be here and kind of
get more of the history and stuff,
but I just wanted
to pick your brain and see
if there's any
structures, old something,
is there something that's
ready-made to speed this process up?
We have actually a coop
that originally was a playhouse.
A kid's playhouse.
- Well, where's that at? You want to show me?
- Absolutely show you.
All right, cool.
Hey, look at this thing.
This is cool!
I love it!
- It's got shingles!
- It does have shingles.
It's got a chimney!
This thing looks amazing!
In the search to find something
to house these chickens,
Michael points me in the
direction of an old kids' playhouse.
And it's been sitting there dormant,
and I think we have our coop.
This is really cool. This
chicken coop is gonna be perfect.
And it's the quality,
like craftsmanship,
it's really nice.
It's like they built a house.
Yeah, I mean, it's really
ready again for chickens.
- This is an amazing chicken coop.
- Yeah.
At nearly
safely moving the fragile, 30-year-old
coop is Matt's first challenge.
I don't know if it'll tip
or not, but, uh,
you know, we got some hammer and nails,
we could fix something if it fell off.
Let's get some straps
and move it.
- Yeah, let's get it done. Thank you.
- All right.
This playhouse that we found
is a ready-made chicken coop.
It just needs a little bit of extra
fencing, a chicken run, some roofing,
and this thing will be
a predator-proof coop.
We just need to move it,
and somehow not destroy it,
getting it closer
to where Anthony lives.
Okay, hit it.
- That looks good.
- Okay.
- All right, I'm gonna back it up.
- Yep.
With Anthony and Michael's help, we had
no problem getting that strap hooked up,
excavator in place, and
chicken coop on the move.
Big dip, big dip.
And so as I'm
moving this chicken coop,
dangling, with Anthony sort
of guiding it along the way,
the only thing
I didn't think of...
We got a problem.
Are we gonna make it underneath
that power line is the real question.
That was the one thing
I didn't think of.
We got a problem.
Are we gonna make it underneath
that power line is the real question.
That was the one thing
I didn't think of.
I pretty much immediately
realized that
I don't think I'll be able to fit
underneath that power line,
under the current method
of chicken coop movement.
We might be able
to make it underneath this,
but if not, we have to re-think
and try to figure out how
to get across that road.
Let's do it.
Oh, that's gonna be close.
You guys, just, let's make sure
we all keep our eyes open on this one.
How close is that?
You got five feet.
Easy, it might roll.
Pick it up! Pick it up!
There we go.
Right there. Now go forward.
Just dangling on these wires.
- You are golden!
- We got it!
- We got it!
- Whoo!
I actually had to do,
uh, like, limbo.
Like, with the bucket, and the
arm, and I basically had to like,
slink underneath
this power line.
All right, let's go.
We're moving.
There we go. Now we
cooking with Sasquatch grease.
Hell yeah.
That's gonna be it.
We got it. You ever wrangled
a coop before?
This is the first coop
I've ever wrangled.
Well, set it down.
I think we'll be good.
Whoa! You like it?
I'm good on this side.
- Yay!
Our chicken coop
has touched down
in its final spot.
It really does seem like
the safest place.
It's away from the mountains.
It's closer to their home.
And I think that this,
you know, young couple
It's gonna be really exciting when they
have a nice predator-proof chicken coop
so close to their home.
And it's gonna be the thing
that keeps these chickens alive.
- The lion's share is done, so.
- Yeah.
And we'll just kind of,
you know, repair and,
you know, do a little
remodel over here and there,
- just depending on what needs to be done.
- Yeah.
- Beautiful.
- And then, bring those chickens over, man.
- It's done, cluck-cluck.
- Sweet.
As Misty breaks
ground on the greenhouse...
I'm excited. I think this
thing's gonna be really cool.
...Marty, Anthony,
Tamra and Michael
get a closer look at the quality of
the massive oak moved to the mill.
Holy-moly!
Oh yeah!
Look at that square!
Look at that square there!
- Wow.
- That is pretty sick.
That is pretty saucy.
- Pretty exciting.
- Yeah.
You just can't buy
lumber like that any more.
There's no place you can, you
know, buy something that beautiful.
No, no. This is amazing.
- One of a kind.
- Yeah.
- It is.
- Yeah.
Let's just
cut to the chase.
What would somebody pay
for one of these?
Three hundred bucks a foot.
Times 20.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- There you go.
- Six grand.
That's right here, 6000 here.
Well, minus one, because
we gotta make one
as a family, family
heirloom, to keep it.
Table tops, benches, who knows.
This thing is worth
thousands and thousands,
and thousands of dollars.
What do you want to do next?
We'll set it up there,
and we'll get finagling.
As soon as Marty
bucked the branches off of it,
you can tell
the potential it has,
but you can't really tell 100
% till you get it on the mill
and really cut into it
and see what's going on.
This is awesome. This
- Run it!
- Yeah!
- That's how you do it.
- It is.
- I don't.
- Wow!
You gotta, you gonna
run it today. Come here.
So this gentleman is gonna
teach his wife a little bit.
Come on, babe.
So, check it out.
- See this lever right here?
- Yeah.
This is gonna be your throttle
control, just like the gas in your car.
Ease into it,
and when it bottoms out,
the machine's
gonna be wide open.
It's gonna be cutting
as fast as it can.
- Okay.
- So I'm gonna have to stay in here
- and kind of help you push, but I'm gonna let you feel...
- Yeah.
- And then together?
- Yeah, we'll do it together.
It's up to you guys.
Roll it up.
Easy, easy.
Yeah!
Let's go!
Seeing my wife
really enjoying the process
and learning from what the Raney's
are bringing to the table is awesome.
It's bringing her
out of her comfort zone.
There's certain things in her life that
she's never done and experienced.
And, the, the Raneys being here
is, is really bringing her
out of her shell, her cocoon.
Almost there!
- Yeah, good job!
- Yeah!
You let go, I got it.
Good job,
little darling.
- Very first piece of wood.
- Thank you! First piece of wood.
Got it.
You want to flip it?
Yeah, we're gonna flip it. Just
see what we're dealing with.
See how good that nail cuts in.
Nice! Oh, yeah.
And you see exactly where...
And that, look at that.
Got a nail
and four wires.
Hundred and fifty years ago,
and this is what you want.
And it's pretty.
- Look at how pretty that is.
- Pretty.
- Say $300 a foot.
- Six foot.
Three, six, nine, 12, 15,
let me get my feet out,
let me count, 18.
Had to get
the toes out for that.
- Pretty amazing.
- Yeah.
I've been completely
focused on Anthony
and his dream of
becoming a furniture maker
on this homestead.
But, today I saw Tamra
run the sawmill
for the first time.
They did it together,
and their homestead dream
truly has a hope.
It's getting dark.
Was it a good day?
- Great day.
- Yes.
- It was awesome.
- Get a good night's rest.
- Yes.
- 'Cause that shop's gotta start tomorrow.
- Right?
- A long day.
- We got a challenge.
- Yeah.
- Okay. See you tomorrow.
- Right on.
Tomorrow morning!
- Bright and early, I got coffee.
Across the property,
having gathered enough windows
to insulate the new greenhouse,
Misty, Tamra and a small build
crew prepare to frame the structure.
I might just have to make this
my little playground.
Oh, it's gonna be
your playhouse.
- But you're gonna grow food in it.
- Yeah!
Things are definitely
getting started.
The greenhouse is
getting framed up.
Um, and it's pretty cool
to see Misty's vision
come to life, basically.
- Have you ever used a nail g*n before?
- No.
- Have you shot a g*n at all?
- I have shot a g*n.
- Okay, so that's good.
- Yeah.
It's a breeze, like,
no, no, here you go like,
- go there in straight, boom.
- There you go.
- Okay. Just, just one.
Okay!
You got a shiner!
But that was great!
We're framing a greenhouse. You're
gonna need to learn how to use a nail g*n.
Tamra's never used one before.
I hand it to her,
and what's really awesome
about her personality
is she doesn't really hold back.
You think,
by just her appearance,
she'd be more apprehensive to
do something, but she's actually like,
super willing and excited.
- Whoa!
- Got 'em!
- It's small, sure.
- On the smaller side.
- Yeah.
I think it's the perfect size.
I really do.
Well, you also are...
- It is different in size.
- It is!
- It really is. Yeah!
- But welcome to your new playhouse.
This is so cool. I need to
find another word for cool.
But that's what it is.
I'm loving it.
I wanna do it again
and again and again.
It's really cool.
On the Siefker's
historic 80-acre homestead
with the coop safely
in its new location,
Matt and Michael begin the
process of reinforcing the structure
to protect the Siefkers'
remaining chickens
from hungry predators.
The chicken coop
is right there in the spot
except it's not predator proof.
We gotta make sure
nothing can fly in from above,
nothing can get in from the
ground, or dig underneath.
So the first step
is putting over
a covered area to stop
those birds from coming down
and being able
to get those chickens,
but also provide
some valuable shade.
'Cause I know it's cold
right now,
but these chickens are definitely
gonna need a place to hide
when that sun comes out.
- So the first thing's first.
- Okay.
Would be we gotta screw
this guy on here.
- So, really, just kinda hold this into place.
- Yes, sir.
Here-ish. Just hold it up.
I'm gonna take this screw out.
- Then we'll kick out that...
- Here, I'll hold it. I'll measure and hold it.
- And you do your...
- Got it.
- There's 12 inches.
- Bam.
Flat to the overhang.
- Whoa, that will hold it on, man.
- Easy-peasy.
I'm really enjoying
working with Michael.
He might not have as much to contribute
as far as like the brute-force labor,
but he's got a ton of experience
and generations of knowledge
on this homestead.
And having him here
is a real asset.
You guys have obviously done
a lot of work on your homestead,
but what do you guys do
for a living?
I'm a master carpenter by trade,
but I also have
an expl*sive business.
What kind of expl*sive devices
are you making?
Majority of what I make
are fireworks.
For competitions,
and travel around the country
and sh**ting competitions
for trophies.
- So I've never met anybody that made fireworks before.
- Really?
And it seems like it kinda fits,
like a homesteader sort of skill.
I mean, if you need to blow up a stump
or something would you know what to do?
I would be the person to look
for to do that. I can do that.
Michael is the fireworks guru
of Alabama.
Finding out that he's basically
like a pyrotechnics expert,
it kinda just adds this
element of crazy and danger
that you don't really expect when you
meet some guy living on a old homestead.
- All right.
- Best work for the chicken.
For the next step
of the greenhouse build,
Misty and Tamra
secure the frame,
so it can withstand
the region's severe weather.
If my calculations are right,
this layout should be perfect.
If it's wrong,
we'll have to rip out all the
windows and move all the set.
- Well, I'm trusting your Raney math right now.
- That's not good.
I love building greenhouses
out of old, recycled windows
because it ends up
looking amazing. It's free.
- Let's try it.
- Okay.
- Okay.
- Ta-da!
Trying to piece in the windows could
take a moment 'cause it's like a puzzle.
You don't really visually see or,
you know, get the picture until now.
So this is the moment where we
really see the greenhouse take shape
with the putting in
these windows.
- Viola.
- Viola.
We don't need them to open.
It's okay. It'll just be fixed.
- And we're moving right along.
- Cool.
We need to pop out two
more windows out the sliders,
- throw in the stead, and we're done with the wall.
- Awesome.
I think I got a few calluses
which is cool.
I put my hands up
to Anthony's and said,
"Hey, my hands are gonna
look like yours pretty soon."
So it's pretty cool to just get
in there with my own hands,
build it with my own hands
and just tell my daughter,
"Hey, your mom did this."
So it's something that
I'm pretty proud of, too.
No more drill.
Does it fit?
Don't panic.
We're gonna get it all set
and trimmed.
- Boom!
- All right.
- Whoo!
It looks good.
- Now we just gotta do the same thing over there.
- Awesome. Okay.
And we gotta do math
'cause there's different sized windows.
- Okay.
- And hopefully, our layout's right
- and we can make it work.
- Cool.
Let's mill the rest of that log.
See if we can find some more gold.
- Let's mill.
- Fire in the hole.
Over at the sawmill
Marty and Anthony
mill the oak log into slabs.
The goal: to develop
an immediate source of income
to keep Anthony on
the homestead full time.
I love this guy.
Good job, bud.
Let's do a little math.
Two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine,
ten, eleven.
And we were talking
$1200 per slab.
- 12,000 bucks.
- What would be next?
Putting it under the dry shed
for a year per inch,
but with what I've got right now it
would take... it's a two year process.
So we're all excited about
using this,
but it's two or three years
away from being ready
- because there's so much moisture.
- Yeah.
Good rule of thumb,
a year an inch.
I just let it sit,
waiting game after that.
That's where the money comes in.
Time is money.
This kid's sitting
on a gold mine.
But like everything if it
sounds too good to be true,
it probably is.
This device is going to tell
the real truth.
It measures the moisture
content in lumber.
If it's under 12 percent, I'm
standing next to $10,000 cash.
If it's over 12 percent,
my bank account leads zero.
Which is, basically,
a watered logged log.
That's really bad news. If we stack
it over there with his other slabs,
he's gonna have to wait
at least two years
before the moisture content
gets to a working stage
of about 15, hopefully 12,
in a perfect world,
under ten percent.
If I truly wanna help
this homesteader,
I've gotta speed up the
drying time of all of these slabs.
You can spend a $100,000
on a kiln that dries lumber.
Or use homestead skills
and know-all.
With this kiln, Anthony's furniture
making dream can become a reality
right on this homestead.
You guys
have crazy weather.
Yeah, last Easter we had a
huge tornado come through the valley.
It actually came through
right here,
and we had one of the biggest,
oldest trees fall into the pond.
- It was that close?
- Yeah, it was that close.
- You were home?
- Windows shaking, I mean, it was scary.
Did you have some place to go or
you were just got to stay in the house?
Yeah, go in a corner
and hope for the best.
- Oh, my goodness.
- Mm-hmm.
We put our helmets on.
I mean, I was holding Anna
Rose. Actually put her in a car seat.
- Like, in the house?
- In the house. Yeah.
Oh, my gosh. So that if anything
happens she's like, secure.
Mm-hmm. They say with babies
put them in their car seat,
and that helps them if
anything happens protect them.
- Jeez.
- Yeah.
- So, but it was scary.
- Is it common?
We had a big tornado
before we moved here
in our previous house as well
that took down half of our
neighborhood, flattened it.
It went right over our house,
the next street, completely flat.
- That's really sad.
- A lot of people lost their lives.
- This is a brutal, wild place.
- Yeah.
I really thought Alabama's
gonna be this nice country,
flat, very forgiving
place and land.
- It is not.
- Mm-mm. No.
- That's crazy. So crazy.
- Yeah.
Makes you think when
you have a baby to care of.
Across the homestead,
Matt and Anthony
push to secure a metal roof
atop the upgraded chicken coop.
Providing much needed
protection from predators
attacking from all directions.
It's raining today.
I need to cut this metal.
I got three sheets here.
It's super thick.
The more metal you put
together, the harder it is to cut.
But I clamped
this two-by-four down.
And, basically just makes it
so that I have this perfect line,
and all I gotta do is just run it
alongside this two-by-four here.
Boom, boom, boom, boom.
Total perfection and three
sheets cut all at the same time.
There are a lot of
different animals
that are gonna try and get
into this chicken coop.
And right now
it's not predator proof.
We gotta make sure
nothing can fly in from above,
nothing can get in
from the ground,
or dig underneath.
But also, provide some
valuable shade.
'Cause I know
it's cold right now,
but these chickens are definitely
gonna need a place to hide
when that sun comes out.
In order for me
to keep my chickens alive,
I've gotta be on top of 'em.
Absolutely key, that's number one.
Being able to peek outside
and just keep an eye on them,
it's really huge.
So we just gotta cut whatever
this is four inches longer.
You know, this is family
property, generational property,
but I'm also trying
to start my own life.
You know, everything being
real close to me on my property,
it really feels
as if it's my own.
It's done.
Think we're growing old,
brother.
So we'll start figuring out
just exactly what we need to do
to box this whole thing in
and then put all that
chicken wire, fencing,
double layer,
they'll be safe
as they possibly can be.
I love it.
Northern Alabama's
tornado alley
kind of some crazy stories
I've been hearing.
That's a massive
oak tree right there.
That's scary!
With only two full
days remaining to save
the Seifker's
homesteading legacy,
Marty, Misty and Matt
assess their progress so far.
When we first met Anthony,
he seemed a little bit discouraged.
Working with him for the last
few days... I see why.
He wants to make a living building
furniture, and chairs and tables
out of trees...
And just look around.
This is a beautiful homestead.
It has never been logged
and it's not his intention to log it. He
doesn't have to. The tornado came through here
and knocked down 20 trees.
We cut one of them, we slabbed
it and he claims the value of that...
First cut, slabbed up
was ten grand.
Or is it because it has all the moisture
in it because it's a big green tree?
I think we need
to figure out a way to...
get this guy some type
of homestead kiln.
Where he's not waiting three years.
Even if he has to wait six months
That's money.
Literally money in the bank.
Tamara has told me that they've
tornadoes that have circled this homestead
and I didn't realize that it was so
close, you can see their house from here.
Takes a lot of wind
to knock these down.
They don't have a storm shelter.
So they don't have anywhere to go
when these tornadoes rip through.
The windows were shaking and
vibrating and she was terrified.
In fear of getting project ADD
right, I started the screen house and
now I wanna somehow build a storm shelter,
giving them a safe place to go in case,
not in case, when this happens again.
How many chickens do they feel have
been, you know, eaten by predators?
They started out with a lot of chickens,
like 30 something and I think they lost 20.
What do you think it is?
Well, I don't really know. I mean it
could've been a bobcat at one point,
it could've been coyotes,
it could've been foxes.
I have two trail camps set up
on the property.
If these animals are running around
at night, that's when they're most active
and that's probably when
things are starting to disappear
then we're gonna have to go under the cover
of darkness and confront them head on.
Anthony hasn't made time to
ward off these predator animals.
I think the best thing
to protect the livestock here
is to get Anthony
up there hunting
and see if we can't face
these predators head on.
To provide the Seifkers
a safe haven from violent weather,
Misty will create a buried
storm shelter.
Matt will help Anthony
identify and hunt down
the predator threat
once and for all.
And to accelerate the drying time
for the property's valuable lumber,
Marty will build
an eight-foot tall solar kiln.
To allow Anthony to turn
fallen trees into buildable lumber
in one quarter of the time.
I'd like y'all
to get back to work.
Oh, let's go, Marty.
Y'all, y'all follow me.
This is so hard.
Later that morning, Marty
shifts his focus to Anthony's workspace.
You know what the best thing that's
happened on this homestead for me?
- What's that?
- Is watching you work.
I would say, without a doubt,
you're one of the hardest working
homesteaders we've ever visited.
- Thanks a lot.
- Well, it's true.
This guy wants to build slabs
and tables and chairs and furniture
out of the tree he mills.
And I see...
A pretty cool shop.
It's very well built
but it's not finished.
- Your shop is just crowded.
- Yes.
By going there
right now, I see tools
on both sides.
There's one table
under production.
So you really need
a place to work.
I do.
So, given this some thought and
thank goodness the sun popped out
because I'm gonna need some good
weather to do what I'm about to propose.
What you've got?
- I'm gonna pour slab here...
- Okay.
Off the side of this
existing shop.
And once we get the slab down,
we will immediately, the next day
start framing the walls
and we'll dry it in.
Okay.
Before starting the kiln, Marty
first wants to expand Anthony's workshop
by 420 square feet giving him
more work area to pursue his passion
and bring income
to the homestead.
So, I'm gonna grab that bobcat.
I'm gonna start scraping it out.
Yup.
It's gonna go fast. Slab
one day, walls the next day.
- Roof's the next day, done.
- Got it.
You can't even walk through
Anthony's existing shop. It's so cluttered.
There's no room
to build any furniture.
What he needs, is more space.
I think if we had three walls,
put a roof on it, some barn doors
we can get big logs in
and out. It's gonna help him.
In fact it'd be cool
if we can incorporate
some of those logs in
the actual structure itself.
I'm gonna do anything
to help my fellow hard worker.
At the saw mill...
You're right. You do
have a little rot in these logs.
Marty proposes an innovative
solution to Anthony's lumber issues.
I think it's tragic
that you have to wait two or three
years before you can use the lumber.
Yeah.
So what I'd like to do
is something like this.
- You ready?
- Yes.
I'm thinking, not this door,
just give you a visual.
Come here.
About building a solar kiln...
- Hmm.
- Will face itself. There's ten pieces
of that polycarbonate leftover from that
greenhouse Misty's building and your wife.
That's more than enough
to be in this position.
Right?
Facing south, transferring
and trapping heat inside of it.
Yeah.
Solar energy will pass
through a clear plexiglass front face
of Marty's kiln trapping it inside
the box while the all-black interior
absorbs it, heating
the air inside.
Small fans circulate the heated
air drawing moisture from the wood
and drying it ten times faster
than outdoors.
We would have two doors
that open all the way open
where you can take your
forklift, bring slabs in, set it down,
back it out, close the doors.
And just, leave it alone
and let the sun dry it in this
part of Alabama.
If we do this right,
you can take the drying time
of oak... From two years
to two months.
- If we do it right.
- Yeah.
If we can get
Anthony to a point
where he can take a tree...
Manufacture something,
and sell it to the public,
he'll be at a place where...
We can put a smile back
on his face
we can say good-bye
to discouragement
and he'll be satisfied
with being creative.
I think we need to be smart
enough to know that the sun
help you on this homestead.
But we've only got
two days to do it.
Yeah.
Two hours later,
Misty and Tamara arrive
with good news
regarding a potential
storm shelter.
Hi, Anthony.
Hello, hello, hello.
We just went shopping.
We found this crazy fuel tank.
I want to try and bury it
somewhere close to your front door
maybe away from some trees,
so we don't create a trap
- Yeah.
- For all of you.
So, where do we put
something like this?
- Towards the back right here.
- Let's walk over.
We found this junky old
fuel tank
and it's not perfect but guess
what? It's gonna save their lives.
This is just a natural little
spot that can be used
This would be the easiest spot.
I like it because I like how
close we are to your front door
and if it's dark, you don't wanna be like
running across the field in the pitch black.
And there's not many times
where I see panic on his face.
That's a sense of helplessness
and offence.
Well, let's change that today.
- Yeah.
- I'm totally going for that.
I don't have much time so I'm
gonna start right now. Bury a tank.
- Yeah.
- Let's do that.
It's hard for me to hear stories
like what that feeling Anthony had,
'cause he was just
so mad at himself.
It gives me like this
pit in my stomach.
It's like this feeling where,
if I don't do something like this
family might not be here in a year.
Here you go.
This has always been
the top of the list.
It always tends to fall to the
bottom until something bad happens.
It brings a sense
of safety and reassurance.
To know that we actually
have a safe place to go.
We'll set it, we'll back fill,
figure out a door
and, I mean it shouldn't take
that much time.
- No.
- And then you guys
are ensured safety
for the rest of your lives.
I love it,
I love it, I love it.
Great.
Over at the house,
Matt presents Anthony
the findings
from the trail camps
he set a couple of days before.
With the hopes of identifying
what's decimating their livestock.
This is the trail camp
closest to you guys' homestead
in that little clear,
right here, okay?
Look at that.
- Got a deer.
- Okay.
And look at the eyes
all glowing.
Oh, two deer. You've
got a lot of deer out there.
Yup.
- Ooh, raccoon.
- Raccoon.
He's not really worrying
me much.
Okay, I don't know what this is.
- Look at the eyes.
- Ah, it's a deer.
No that's not a deer.
Dude.
That's not a deer.
Now we're getting somewhere.
- What is that?
- That's a coyote.
That is a coyote.
That is definitely a coyote.
That is a big old coyote.
Setting up these trail cams
has been a good idea because...
We do have the smoking g*n
evidence of what this predator problem is.
- Look at hat tail tucked down. Yeah.
- Yeah.
Tucked down and then
it runs off.
You run coyotes at night, but you don't
ever realize they are on your backsteps.
Me seeing that game camera, that's
couple of hundred feet from the house.
Well, that's pretty eerie because
the chickens are still free right now.
That's like, just down the road
like, I don't know 150 yards or so.
- Yeah.
- We have positive ID of a coyote, it's about 150 yards
away from where Tamra and Anthony sleep,
and it's definitely the main culprit,
that is taking down this
livestock.
We know they're here, I
think we should go on a hunt.
By getting the resident coyote out of these
woods and making the home settlers lot safer.
- Yes, duh.
- All right. Let's pack it up, get out there in the woods.
Let's do it.
We have a definite sighting
of coyote on the property.
I think Anthony needs to do something
about it. So, we're gonna get him out there
and see if we can't take care
of this problem.
- You ready. Let's get it. Let's get it. Let's go.
- I'm ready.
These coyotes become really active at
night, especially when the sun goes down
and just starts to get dark. As soon as
it got pitch black the only advantage that
he has here is that
night vision scope.
I'm kinda nervous, I've never
looked on a night vision scope.
Everything's all set up,
ready to go.
- Got one. Yeah.
- We got one?
- Ready?
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
Now, we're gonna go see
if we can find it.
Going after a coyote that is
threatening the whole center's property.
Is actually a necessity because that
is taking food off their table, hard work,
money, time and you might lose a lot
of livestock before anything happens.
- Got the nerves going.
- It will right?
We got rid of the coyote, it's gonna
be a reoccurring problem, you know,
little bit of insight, little
bit of technology, I think
I'm gonna be able to stay
on top of it.
With the final hour ticking
away, Marty begins a new major build.
A solar kiln designed to
quickly dry the wealth of lumber,
milled from deadfall around
the property.
You could spend a $100,000
on a kiln that dries lumber
or use the leftover building
materials from Misty's green house
and homestead skills and
know-how.
You've got a cut.
Most people would go like this
they'd measure it, right.
Then, they'd slide that board
over here and cut it.
And then they'd repeat the
whole process.
Most people. Make one cut.
One cut, I move the board,
I've already marked it.
With this kiln, Anthony's furniture
making dream can become a reality.
Right on this homestead.
Last but not least.
Little tricks here and there.
Save you some time.
On the other side
of the homestead.
We're just gonna
call this primer.
Matt nears
completion of the chicken coop,
getting one step closer to keeping
the birds in and the coyotes out.
- What do you think?
- Legit.
Making that chicken coop predator-proof
is really about giving them a place
where they're safe, inside the
coup and outside. So that means
a fence that is very sturdy, something
that could withstand some weight.
Don't hit the building.
Bend this out.
Don't hit that building.
But also creating an area that's
covered all the way up to that roof point
on the outside of the chicken
run, is really the utmost concern.
Like if you can keep 20 chickens
alive in this thing that's a lot of eggs.
And then this little corner of
your homestead, it is self sufficient.
That's so true.
It's really working out for you guys, it's
in your favor and you guys deserve it.
Motivation's there and to see the
finished product, I mean, it's there.
Working side by side with
somebody that shares the same dream,
the same lifestyle.
You know, he's so close to being successful,
he needed a hand up from people that
understood and could work just as
hard as him to really get those things
that were all kind of
All right. Locked up.
Handle, locked up tight.
That's it.
At the new wood shop expansion,
the concrete foundation poured and set,
Marty prepares to raise
the wall that lean to,
with a custom addition from one of
the homestead's greatest resources.
One, two, three!
Very good. Very
good. There we go.
Right there. Good job guys.
Wall's gotta go in to the
vertical lock.
So we need to make a
place for that wall to go.
And this two by four will
serve as a guide.
What we've done is cut out a recess for
two walls to come in at 90 degrees and
recede into this vertical post.
It's a quick way and a very
custom way to build work trees.
Every homesteader has trees and they
may not know the value of those trees
when it comes to construction
or making it aesthetic.
Oh, yeah. When we get these vertical
up there with a seater log over the top,
all three pieces out of the
same tree, it's gonna be amazing.
Cool.
So let's get it right here,
center, set that notch right on the wall.
Yep. Move them out. Good.
Set it down.
Yep. You're gonna build a wood working shop,
with custom slabs and crazy exotic trees.
Why not incorporate some of that in your
shop, someone pulls up and goes, "Wow.",
before they even open the door and
look at your work and then go, "Wow."
Ooh.
With the wall up
and vertical support secure,
Marty brings in the final
custom piece,
a 30 foot long cedar post
to rest along the top.
That's fine. Let's look at
it please.
- That pretty?
- Oh, my gosh. That's amazing.
This is probably one of the best building
materials you can ever find on a homestead.
The projects that you all have taken
on it's... It really is. It's such blessing
for Anthony down the road.
My dad knows what my dreams are. Seeing a
lot of these projects getting accomplished.
I imagine that it's making
him feel proud.
Sun's going down, in Alabama, let's get
a good night rest and hit it in morning.
Awesome.
With only 24 hours left
to revive the Siefker's homestead,
Misty plans to convert a salvaged
fuel tank into a makeshift storm shelter
to ride out the regions
powerful tornadoes.
Right.
I have this idea to cut a
door, eventually hinge it in.
So that it can't be blocked but I'm really
nervous to cut into this thing because
I believe it's an old fuel tank.
- What's going on over here?
- Hey, dad.
So, uh, I've this crazy...
fuel tank that I've
buried for a storm shelter.
- Fuel tank?
- Mmhmm. Might be a kerosene tank.
We found it at the old salvage
yard. My idea is to cut a hole in it
to create some kind of man
door that can swing in.
So here's the deal. Um, this is probably
the most dangerous thing we've ever done.
-To not know the history
of a fuel tank, -Yeah.
- And then grab a cutting torch and start cutting on it.
- Yeah.
- That's how you die. Okay?
- Yeah.
But if that thing has gasoline
or something expl*sive in it,
the second you put a
spark in that,
the fumes are gonna blow that
person into the next county.
A method that does work is running the
exhaust from your vehicle into that tank
for about 20 minutes.
Okay.
Homesteaders in the past have actually taken
the exhaust from a tractor and they have
run it directly into the fuel tank.
To displace the flammable fumes.
Lift the inner gas from
the exhaust. However,
don't try this at home.
Is it gonna work?
Oh, man. Hey.
You got a, light on you? That
thing's got something in it.
- Oh, yeah look down in here. Hey, look down in here.
- Hang on, buddy.
- You see the reflection, look at the reflection.
- Ah.
Oh, my God.
Yeah, that's really scary.
Shine your light in there.
Smells like fuel.
Dad you can smell it. There's a reflection
full blown, if you don't block the light
you can see it clear as day.
So this is how you get k*lled.
- Oh, yeah, look down in here.
- Oh!
Yeah,
that's really scary.
One day before
the Raney's leave Alabama.
Smells like fuel.
Homesteader Anthony
Siefker has discovered a major problem
putting Misty's storm shelter
in jeopardy.
Even if we get all the fuel
out of that, it's not really
a proper storm shelter
to leave you with.
Yeah so,
this tank's coming out.
I am ripping this out right now.
This obviously won't work but I'm not
leaving them here without a storm shelter.
The truck's pulling
out without Misty.
'Cause Tamra's
stories are legit
and they're terrifying.
- You need my help?
- No.
We'll finish on time.
- Okay. Thank you.
- Okay.
No matter what,
it's super crazy.
I'm gonna start a whole build
and hopefully finish a whole build.
In one day, on the last day.
I mean, this is like,
Marty Raney crazy.
But this is a must and we have
to give them a storm shelter.
That was crazy.
On the Raney's
final day in Alabama,
While Marty continues work
on the solar kiln,
Misty sets aside
the storm shelter,
to welcome new plants to the
homestead's completed greenhouse.
Ooh, it's warmer, you know what,
It's not... It is a lot about
the sun and warmth but wind...
- Yeah.
- Wind is so bad for plants,
especially in the winter time,
just zaps their sugars...
- Yeah.
-...and just wilts them.
And here I brought this
thermometer, so we wanted to hang it.
Right now, it's at 60 degrees
but let's see how hot we can get this
thing in the middle of winter, sound good?
Sounds great.
I love this greenhouse. This
is one of my favorite builds.
It's just... It's just
exactly what I wanted it to be.
I love how the style
matches the house.
I love the fact that we created a space
for her to actually do winter gardening.
I've just been really impressed
with Tamra the whole time.
To see somebody transform
like Tamra,
in a short period of time is
like... it's such a fulfilling feeling.
- You could see the moisture in this glass?
- Yeah.
- So that's good.
- Yeah.
- Humidity.
- It's great.
This is always a good
sign in a greenhouse.
I love my greenhouse.
It's so cool.
I got everything
planted, everything is...
nice and organized.
And I can't wait to see
it all grow and eat it.
I wanna show you something, I
have this crazy design plan, right?
So, I just wanna show
you kind of...
um, my idea which is create as
much ventilation as you possibly can.
- Yeah.
- And so, these are the winter mponths.
- But come spring...
- Yeah.
- Summer, this thing is going to be cooking.
- Yeah.
So, you have all your openers,
which'll help with ventilation
but this is just one more
- added way to get this thing breathing.
- That's awesome.
Working with Misty,
to put it lightly,
has been life-changing.
She brought something out in
me that I really didn't know existed.
She's made me
a stronger woman. Honestly.
So, when you start planting tomatoes or
anything that gets viney and a little high...
- Yeah.
- You're gonna be able to just flip the lid up.
- Come pick a few things and then go.
- Yeah.
- This is like fast food gardening.
That's awesome.
Seven days ago, the
Siefker's rocky field was barren
and the family had few resources
for growing their own produce.
Now...
Misty has built Tamra
a greenhouse
using mostly upcycled windows.
Ensuring a sustainable,
year-round food source
for under a 1000 dollars.
- You like it?
- I love it.
That's cool.
- Okay it worked. That's good.
Later that morning,
Anthony and Tamra await one
final surprise from Matt.
For the newly
finished chicken coop.
All right,
man of the hour.
Whatchu got?
I don't know,
take a look.
- Ohh...
- What?!
- Yeah, so...
- Look at that!
I mean, you guys started
out with 20 chickens,
we're back up to the number
you guys started with.
- Awesome.
- I love it.
We did have about 30 chickens
on this homestead.
But we're down to nine. And
so, I'm bringing in 11 chickens,
I don't think I've ever seen
Tamra and Anthony so happy.
Let's move these chickens.
- Sweet.
- All right!
We've taken a major
hit this year.
And, uh, replenishing
the stock like that,
give 'em time to grow so
when spring hits
it's a major blessing,
it really is.
There we go.
Sweet.
In you go,
little guys.
I'm ready.
- Come on out.
- Let's do this.
Come on, little guys.
Yeah!
Come on out, yeah!
All right, are they all out?
All right.
They're all out.
Havin' the chickens that close to my house,
I can definitely keep an eye on them.
But when it comes
to keeping the animals safe,
that's the bottom line,
we have to keep them safe.
'Cause they rely on me,
I'm their, I'm their guardian.
Don't chickens, don't follow me.
Okay, make sure
you close the latch.
One week ago.
Michael's chicken coop was
a dilapidated play house
offering no protection from
nearby predators.
Today, for only 220 dollars,
the coop is fully restored,
with brand new metal roofing.
Chicken wire to turn
away predators.
And 11 new chickens to
replenish lost live-stock.
What do you think?
- Love it.
- I love it.
That's awesome.
And the work is done and
the chickens are right here.
- Yeah.
- Next to your home.
- And safe. Safe is the biggest thing, yeah.
- Safe, yeah.
There's such
a small livestock
but when you bring 'em to a place
that's close and easy to manage
and that they're going
to be safe and protected,
you don't have to worry
about 'em as much
and that's easy
to keep 'em alive.
We've gotta go chase some chickens
down and get the rest of them in here.
- It might take all three of us.
All right, let's go
get those chickens.
- Awesome.
- Let's do it.
This is
last ditch effort.
-- Yeah.
- Don't have any time for it.
I'm bringing you to a yard.
And hopefully, we can
find something, anything
to bury in the ground to
give you guys a storm shelter.
So, the fuel tank didn't work
out, at this moment we need a source.
Some other type of shelter
that we can make work,
because it's just a matter of time
before a tornado sweeps through.
So, if we have
a covert size
anything, that's plenty big.
We just need to able to bury
something and have you get inside of it.
Yeah. The goal is
to stay alive.
This looks good.
- Something like this could totally work.
- Yeah.
- I think it's perfect, do you like it? I mean...
- Yeah.
- It's not pretty, but it'll do the job.
- Yeah.
Okay, let's figure out how
we're getting' it there.
Michael is full-blown...
Pyro-maniac.
Today, he's gonna give us a
taste of just how "pyro" he is.
You've all worked very hard
and you're still working into the night.
Your father-in-law has just put
together an amazing fireworks display.
So, what we're about to see I
think is gonna be mind-blowing.
The fire's lit! The fire's lit!
Whoa!
Oh, my God.
Yes!
On the Raney's
final day in Alabama,
as Marty juggles
two big projects,
a wood shop expansion
and solar kiln,
Misty unloads a replacement
for the much needed
storm shelter.
So, I'm in a full-blown cluster.
I've started
a last-minute project.
And everything just kind of
literally blew up in my face.
We can't use that tank.
It's full of fuel.
So, we brought in a culvert
to replace that fuel tank.
And now we're gonna
dig, set it.
Hopefully get
in place and give 'em
at least a beginning
of a storm shelter.
And I will say this
will be the last time I do this.
This is crazy.
If we get the culvert buried
in the ground,
that's a huge win for me
and ultimately,
a huge win for the homesteads.
Who's parked?
On the other side
of the homestead...
Okay, partner.
Marty gives
Anthony his first look
at the homestead's improved
wood drying solution.
This is a warm day.
- You feel the heat?
- Yeah.
And this is designed
to collect heat.
It's at an angle for optimum
angle to the sun.
- Yeah.
- The inside is painted black.
- Why?
- To capture the heat, hold it in.
- Reflect it inside.
- Amen. Amen.
You can see these two
fans up here.
Well, these two fans
are solar powered.
So, it's a constant
movement of air.
- Okay.
- That's huge.
Getting the dry kiln down is
a major game changer.
I'm able to fulfil
the promises I have to people.
So many times, I've... I've told
people that I'll be able to do something
And ended up, you know
having to break that promise.
You lose clients that way,
you tend to lose friends.
It's a lot more deeper than
just wood and making furniture.
What we're looking for
is between a 100 and a 130
right now, we're at 116 degrees.
We'll lay this right here.
That would be
the temperature of your wood?
Going this route, a solar kiln,
honestly, never crossed my mind.
For some reason, in my mind,
I had to go big,
I had to go...
more of an industrial way,
and it's... It absolutely
don't have to be that way.
One week ago,
Anthony's most valuable asset,
his logs, were left to rot.
Now, the homestead is equipped
with a solar-powered kiln,
ready to dry Anthony's lumber
in a fraction of the time,
increasing his potential
to mill wood quicker,
make money faster,
and keep his
homesteading dream alive.
You're the proud owner
of a saw mill.
- Mm-hmm.
- You're the very proud owner
- of a solar kiln.
- Mm-hmm.
And now you're the proud owner
of a pretty significant
addition to your shop.
Absolutely.
All right. You go
open that door.
- Can you use it?
- Absolutely use that.
It means a lot to me
to hear you say
- that you can use this.
- Absolutely I can use this.
'Cause I don't have this.
- I'd love to have this.
- Mm-hmm.
Having the shop,
it keeps me here.
I'm able to actually pursue
the dreams.
I'll be able to be here
And that's the major goal.
One week ago,
Anthony's homesteading legacy
was dying when he was
spread too thin.
Now, with the woodshop addition,
built from lumber milled
on the property,
Anthony has enough space
to pursue his valuable craft
without leaving the homestead.
I feel like I've hit
the lottery, if anything.
You've hit the homestead lottery
- for sure.
- Absolutely.
On the other end
of the homestead,
Misty puts the finishing touches
on the replacement
storm shelter.
So, we brought in
a culvert to replace
that... fuel tank.
It is crazy the amount of work
that got done here
but for me, it was all about
"Let's keep this family safe."
What do you think, Dad?
Give us some tamping.
- You're done.
- All right, looks good.
Misty was
really bound and determined
to get us a storm shelter
after I told her
the scary things
that we went through
with the tornadoes in Alabama.
We have to be alive in order
to keep this homestead going,
so for her to wanna do something
to make sure that we're safe,
it means the world to me.
Come on in, everybody.
Looks a lot safer
than that fuel tank.
- Yeah.
How many people
can we get in here?
- Come on!
- Hi!
- What are we doing?
- Hi.
- Hi.
Would you rather be
in the house
or would you rather be in here?
- In here.
- Right here.
Oh,
absolutely in here.
The shelter
obviously needs a door,
But based off
of what I've seen this week,
I'm fully confident Anthony
and Tamra can put one on.
But all I cared about was
getting the shelter in buried.
I'm now at a place
where I have the peace of mind
to leave here fully confident
that this family is
gonna be safe.
This was a real push.
We all experienced it together
to make it happen.
I wasn't leaving
- until you guys had a safe place to go.
- Yeah.
- You got precious cargo in your arms right there.
- Mm-hmm.
This is a little bit
of a security system, yeah?
- Oh, yeah.
- Yeah.
Misty being persistent
on getting us a storm shelter,
it really does mean the world
because it's only
a few times a year.
That few times a year,
you can't take those chances.
I think it definitely needs
some work
- but it's a really good start.
- Yeah.
And if a tornado hit tomorrow,
you would live.
The Raneys do
absolutely care
about our well-being.
They go the extra mile.
They really do.
On that note, we have to drive
to another homestead.
- We gotta go now.
- Yeah.
You need to crawl out.
- I can't.
- Come on out.
I can't get up.
I've fallen and I can't get up.
There's been
a transformation
- on this homestead.
- Yeah.
- From a little bit of discouragement...
- Mm-hmm.
To optimism.
- Yes.
- Right?
Being a homesteader,
it's not easy work.
It takes a certain character
to be able to live
this lifestyle.
And I can only hope that...
my children,
my grandchildren will
understand the hard work
that was put into it.
Y'all definitely... helped
the dream stay alive.
Good words. Thank you.
In just a few days,
you can see the change in him.
The excitement in his eyes.
I'm excited to see
what we can do together now.
It's not just gonna be him.
With me learning
these new skills,
I can help Anthony.
I feel like that's going
to help us as a couple.
Now I'm gonna be
right there with him.
The fact that we get to be
a part of your journey,
your family's long,
rich history,
- I'm really proud about it.
- Don't you make me cry!
- I thank you guys.
- I'm a crybaby.
Thanks a lot
for letting us be a part
- of your guys' legacy.
- Oh, my gosh. We're staying.
We're here today.
We're not going anywhere.
Everything I remember...
that was good in my life
happened on this farm.
I'm really encouraged
about the future
of this homestead.
The Raneys have had
a major influence
in Anthony's decision.
His eyes have been
opened up here
what the possibilities are.
Am I gonna look back
and worry Anthony and Tamra?
Not at all.
Say "bye".
Roll tide!
Hey, guys. Gonna
give you a little update.
The shop has
been used every day.
I've got to do a few projects
since you left.
Solar kiln is
speeding up the dry time
tenfold it seems.
This is the update
on the green house.
Look at how beautiful
these cabbages are getting.
I feel the utmost confidence
in Anthony and Tamra running it.
I think it's in place
to go on
for many more generations.
I really appreciate
the storm shelter.
Just got it reinforced.
Trying to make it
fairly waterproof.
One hundred percent safe.
Y'all have a good one.
Thanks, Raneys.
This property is
completely destroyed
with water. I can
see a major problem.
The goats moved in
to the chicken coop.
You can see that
this family is
a family... in need.
We need to reclaim the backyard.
- Oh, my God.
- Oh, man!
Wow.
That went down fast.
If I had a sign
with a skull and crossbones
I'd nail it to the driveway
into this homestead.
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08x01 -Sweet Homestead Alabama
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City slickers get schooled by awesome hosts on their last chance to succeed off grid & survive off the land... among wildlife predators & natural disasters
City slickers get schooled by awesome hosts on their last chance to succeed off grid & survive off the land... among wildlife predators & natural disasters