- 2 months ago
Two couples assume the lives of early settlers to the West. Using only the resources and tools of the period, they will attempt to build homes, raise livestock, hunt and grow crops.
Category
š¹
FunTranscript
00:00Satsang with Mooji
00:30okay well it's September the 22nd we're finally getting a harvest believe it or
00:44not we got beans we planted these when they have third week in July yeah third
00:51week in July and we're getting beans and the only reason we're harvesting as they
00:54say it's supposed to snow tonight but we got dill we got beans and here have a peak here look at the
01:02size of that one two months supposed to be 68 are we the farmers hey we got something good
01:11job did better to have tried it failed and not to have tried at all settler motive that's our motive
01:17it's September 15th the morning after the first serious frost Tim and Frank head out to the south
01:34pasture to get the final verdict on the barley crop we weren't really worried about the frost killing
01:41after we planted we realized that our crop wasn't going to be as good as we had expected because
01:48we just kept getting more rain and more rain too wet planted too late mostly too yeah not enough month
01:56and a half too late not enough sunshine you see the whole area because there was so much water that
02:01was a low area down there so most of the seeds washed down there so you'll find we have clumps that
02:06actually came up but it doesn't come up good because it came up in water this is all the seeds and all
02:14that it is is just rotten you can see they're just rotten totally rotten Deanna what have you got there our
02:26carrot these carrots what we had planted them twice now twice three times three times it we had been drowned
02:33out two times so these carrots have been planted three times and this is what we've gotten we have
02:40what half a dozen tomatoes that we might get that's all we'll get we won't have any root vegetables we
02:46just have to rely on any canning we've done and then just use our money some of our five hundred dollars
02:51to order food and we figured it out and we figure if nothing goes wrong getting groceries and getting
02:59feed for animals by the end of June we should be left with maybe ten dollars nothing that nothing
03:04else happens and you know we could have a wagon break we could have something happen to one of
03:09our animals that's no extra ammunition anything it's gonna be a tight winter really tight and that's why
03:14we're that's why we're going to work at the neighbors right now in spite of the crop failure the
03:22pioneers are determined to survive the winter as true homesteaders Tim Indiana head to the new
03:28Haven Hutterite colony to barter their labor for food this was a common practice in settler times
03:34during the first hungry winters someone would have to leave the homestead and find work to support the
03:39family these are layers do you know that quite a few eggs inside okay Jeff it's okay and they actually
03:51keep these eggs they aren't these are just the yolks the white hasn't formed yet they actually keep them
03:58and use them for making noodles today the treadways are processing chickens because the bush camps and
04:05railway gangs of the 1870s are long gone still there are some pioneer traditions here found in these
04:12hymns sung for pleasure by people who share a reverence for the old ways
04:18they know that they just leave us they don't have to be perfect for and they've been
04:23And I show the story to God knows now that you've almost already filled my soul with you keeping that point out the wicked
04:24hearts to the Lord where I shall see it's a lion's love
04:25I'm deep breathing ha ha ha ha ha my parents are coming and said they're going to take you to the Lord and that I may not be a
04:31He filled my soul, if you're keeping the point out,
04:35doing his life to the Lord, where I shall see it,
04:40the lion's home.
04:46I'm deep breathing.
04:47My parents are coming.
04:48My parents and sister.
04:49We're happy having a baby.
04:50Yeah.
04:51We're really excited.
04:52We're counting the sleeps, and that's pretty sad.
04:54Frank's like, how many sleeps left, Alana?
04:56That'd be like four, three.
04:58It's pretty sad.
05:00I never thought he'd be this excited.
05:05It's Frank and Alana's turn for some family visits.
05:08They won't see their parents again until next year.
05:11It's a chance for this young couple to show off
05:14what they've accomplished.
05:15Look at all your makeup.
05:17And Frank did a chicken coop the week we were by ourselves,
05:19because the chickens were half-dying,
05:20and they're in these little cages.
05:21And a chance for their parents to marvel and take pride.
05:26That was frites, because we're in a swamp, Mom.
05:29I was just so curious to see how things were.
05:33And when we first saw the first cabin when it came around the corner,
05:37it just looked so much better than what I thought it would look like.
05:40And then coming back here and seeing Frank and Alana's,
05:43I really impressed the way they built the cabins.
05:45But going over there to where they lived for so many weeks in a tent,
05:48I just can't believe how they survived in those conditions.
05:52Walking through that field with the ruts and it's sopping wet now.
05:56I think if I had to live in a tent for seven weeks with a couple that they don't know,
06:00I think there would have been serious problems.
06:03I don't think I could have done it.
06:05Frank is living his father's dream.
06:08Jim Logie has a passion for Canada's pioneer history,
06:12and he's arrived in his own costume, hoping to share a corner of his son's adventure.
06:17Oh, you're out.
06:18Why don't you see the old line at the end of this, huh?
06:20Oh, too much slack.
06:24Wasn't very controllable.
06:26Meanwhile, Carol Logie will leave her daughter-in-law with the survival skill for the long, cold winter.
06:32It's going to be a monotonous winter, I tell you.
06:35Knitting and quilting, I tell you, life's gone downhill.
06:38Now you're going to learn how to purl.
06:41That was a knit stitch.
06:44Let's go for a beer for a second.
06:46This is just a little something I made in an afternoon, you know, I had nothing to do, so...
06:53Is it for me?
06:54Yes, for you.
06:55Too soon, it's time to go.
06:57Jim Logie has made something to leave with Alana.
07:00Oh, my goodness.
07:02So, it's a period knife.
07:04Yes.
07:05It is.
07:06Yes.
07:07It's amazing, and you even put the Logie symbol on it.
07:09On the other side.
07:10Pioneer quest.
07:11Oh, you're so cute.
07:13That's so nice.
07:16Nice view.
07:17It's exciting.
07:18I know he spends so much time with them, and he's amazing at making them.
07:21Thank you, my dear.
07:22It's a keepsake.
07:23Yes, yes.
07:24Must be used.
07:25It will be used.
07:27Okay.
07:28Okay.
07:29All right.
07:30Goodbye, Alana.
07:31Goodbye.
07:32Goodbye.
07:33Don't worry about us.
07:34Okay.
07:35I'm not gonna worry.
07:37Take these, all of you.
07:42Now, Frank and Alana face five months of winter away from the care and support of their families.
07:48Like the young dreamers who spent their first Christmas year 130 years ago, they will have to rely on their wits and each other.
07:58I know I was here in Manitoba many years ago in the wintertime, and it's cold, and it's windy.
08:06Hopefully, they come out in the springtime in real good shape.
08:11And they will be stronger.
08:12Yes.
08:13They will be stronger inside as well as outside.
08:16Yes.
08:17They are in great physical shape, but mentally, this has made them both stronger as a couple.
08:21Yeah.
08:22Yeah.
08:23Don't miss us.
08:24Just carry on.
08:25Yeah.
08:26You too.
08:27Okay.
08:28Not that long.
08:29I know.
08:30It's really hitting me how long we're here for.
08:35For a while there, it was going by really quick, and I think now that it's slowing down, it's starting to scare me.
08:39I think it's going really slow now, or it's starting to go slower, and this is a long time we're here for.
08:44And it's like, wow, we've got the winter coming up, which is going to be long and cold and pretty boring.
08:51And so, it's feeling more like a long haul, so I'm missing some of the...
08:54It seems like we've been here forever, and we've only been here three and a half months, so we're only just past a quarter away.
08:59I feel like I'll be 50 when I leave.
09:01I mean, it's just forever away.
09:03Yeah.
09:04Yeah.
09:05The family visits are over.
09:10Time to get back to work, because the signs are everywhere that winter is just around the corner.
09:17Check this ice out.
09:19Our first morning with ice.
09:20Oh.
09:21If we do it real quick, we can put it in a glass and have some ice water this morning.
09:27Mmm.
09:30We're getting there.
09:32How important is this wood?
09:46Oh, super.
09:47Really important.
09:48We had fires going, and it's down to...
09:50I don't know.
09:51Well, the ponds are freezing.
09:53And we had...
09:54We put in...
09:55Just wood in our stove and put the damper down, and we had lots of colds this morning with the oak.
10:00But with the poplar and stuff, there's nothing left in the morning.
10:03Oh, this is a good log.
10:05It's good and solid, and...
10:07What would it be?
10:08About a nine-inch log there.
10:10And that'll last...
10:11A 16-inch piece will last all night.
10:14Which is very important.
10:17The pioneers have lucked out.
10:19A neighbor wants a stand of dead oak cut down and taken away.
10:23But it's a long haul back to the homestead.
10:27It never ceases to amaze me how long everything takes to do.
10:32You think you're going to make five loads of firewood in a day.
10:37You only make one.
10:39You know, if you looked at a ruler and you said,
10:42Well, I've got 12 inches of time left.
10:44We've got about 20 inches of work left.
10:48So we've got about three weeks of hopeful good weather.
10:54Snow right now would be an interesting twist with the wagon,
10:59because we were told by the old timers that the steel wheels attract the snow.
11:06And then, as you clunk along the road, a chunk of the snow will fall off the wheel.
11:10And then it becomes a real rough ride.
11:12And that's where the wheels start to fall apart and the spokes break.
11:17So, snow right now would be very interesting.
11:20We don't have any other means of transportation other than climbing on a horse's back.
11:25Water.
11:32Do you want to see our mushrooms so far?
11:45Check these out.
11:47We'll get you guys to eat them first in case they're poisonous.
11:49Yeah, in case they're poisonous.
11:51And then we get the new insurance.
11:53We're all hooked up now.
11:54Oh, wait three months.
11:55Wait three months.
11:56250,000 each.
12:05We decided to build our barn here for the cow and chickens.
12:08That's the chicken door.
12:10This is the cow door.
12:12And our cow will be.
12:14This is the low end.
12:16And we'll build a little platform here out of poplar.
12:20She'll stand on and she'll dump there.
12:22And the urine, commonly called cow pee, will go that way.
12:27And the cow manure will go that way, out the door and out.
12:32We're supposed to get snow tonight, so we wanted to try and get the chickens in today into here because they're still outside and we're worried about them getting way too cold.
12:44So we want to get this done today.
12:45So we want to get this done today.
12:46We're not sure if we'll get the chickens in because the guys have to get the rest of the
13:01straw in today.
13:02So we're kind of pressed for time now that it's getting cold so quick and we're worried about getting everything done in time.
13:08We had thought about doing a barn with the horses in as well.
13:11But then we thought they'd be outside all day.
13:13And then there'd be all that open space so the cow and the chickens would probably be way too cold.
13:17So we've got a tiny, tiny barn here.
13:19But it should be good for the two of them.
13:21And we're hoping so.
13:22Everyone we asked, nobody really knew.
13:24So we're doing the best we can and we hope they'll be okay in here.
13:27Are you feeling the pressure of winter?
13:29Definitely, yeah.
13:30Especially the last couple of days it's gotten cold.
13:32And Frank and I still have about a while and a half on our house to re-chink.
13:36And it's moss that we need from the swamp.
13:39So it's a really cool job to do.
13:41Your hands are freezing and it's hard to do with gloves on.
13:44And I was a bit worried about the moss freezing.
13:47You know, all the water around it in the swamp and then I wouldn't be able to get the good moss for the house.
13:51So yeah, I want to have everything chinked this week which is a big pressure.
13:55And the straw has to be done now before it snows.
13:57And we haven't really started cutting any wood yet.
14:00So we've got a lot to do all of a sudden.
14:02And we figure we've got four weeks at the most to finish it all up.
14:05So the pressure's on.
14:08We're doing the roof of the barn so we'll put a layer of straw first.
14:13I don't know if this is going to stay on.
14:14Yeah, it's sliding right up.
14:16I'm just trying to help.
14:23Why don't we tack it on on this side here?
14:26On this side.
14:27Okay.
14:28This is what we're going to do.
14:29You guys are behind schedule on your straw so hurry it up.
14:32Can't live with them, can't live alone.
14:37Okay, girls, the second one, women of the world.
14:44Pull it this way.
14:45The second one.
14:46The second or the first?
14:47The second one.
14:48What part of second don't you understand?
14:51The second.
14:52Yeah.
14:53Okay, that's good.
14:54I think the tar paper's going to make all our straw fall off.
14:57Yeah, I think, and then a wind's going to come.
14:58We're going to have nothing but a few pieces of tar paper left.
15:01The pioneers are improvising with the materials they have because the crop failure has left
15:06them on a tight budget.
15:07They need to protect what's left of their livestock.
15:10That means working out a roof that's simple, watertight, and warm for Daisy and the chickens.
15:16The other one, you would have got that extra foot, though.
15:20But it would have only been eight feet wide.
15:22So you have all the...
15:23So where do you know...
15:24Why don't you guys quit nagging and get to work?
15:29Teamwork, but not working together.
15:31More than one.
15:32Oh, that's right.
15:33How many do you want?
15:34All of them.
15:39Cut it out!
15:43Stop it!
15:46We can't do straw without the women.
15:58We need them.
15:59We desperately need the women.
16:01We need some weight to pack the straw.
16:02Yeah, I was just going to say they want our weight to pack the straw.
16:05We need the weight to pack the straw down, so...
16:08And we've both lost so much weight that we just can't pack it.
16:13It's a non-traditional woman back seat.
16:18Wait, Alana, you can do the non-traditional thing.
16:23You can drive the men there.
16:24All right.
16:25Hold on.
16:26Hold on to your pants, I tell you.
16:28Yeah.
16:29Yeah, Alana, you should throw them down in the corner.
16:32Whoa!
16:33Whoa!
16:34Whoa!
16:35Whoa!
16:36Whoa!
16:37Whoa!
16:38Whoa!
16:39Whoa!
16:40Whoa!
16:41Whoa!
16:42Whoa!
16:43Whoa!
16:44Whoa!
16:45Whoa!
16:46Whoa!
16:47Whoa!
16:48Redocument that.
16:49I really think we should get the fence motion drift out and half the electric wire.
16:54Probably wasn't her fault, though.
16:56No, no.
16:57Tell the insurance company for the fourth time in a row.
16:59Yes.
17:00I'm not sure, but...
17:01I don't know why these things keep jumping out at people like this.
17:04Let's go!
17:05I'm really, really afraid.
17:06Whoa!
17:07Whoa!
17:08Whoa!
17:09Whoa!
17:10Whoa!
17:11Whoa!
17:12Whoa!
17:13Whoa!
17:14Whoa!
17:15Whoa!
17:16Whoa!
17:17Whoa!
17:18Whoa!
17:19Whoa!
17:20Whoa!
17:21Whoa!
17:22Whoa!
17:23Whoa!
17:24Whoa!
17:25Whoa!
17:26Whoa!
17:27Whoa!
17:28Whoa!
17:29Whoa!
17:30Whoa!
17:31Whoa!
17:32Whoa!
17:33Whoa!
17:34Whoa!
17:35Whoa!
17:36Whoa!
17:37Whoa!
17:38Whoa!
17:39Whoa!
17:40Whoa!
17:41Whoa!
17:42The deer hunting season has opened, and Tim is anxious to get started.
17:47But the pioneers must follow modern hunting rules, which means using only a bow for now.
17:53They'll have to wait another three weeks before they can start using their black powder rifles.
17:58There's plenty of deer tracks around.
18:00But the pioneers are finding it's next to impossible to get close enough for a killing shot with the bow.
18:06Usually about this time at night they come out of the bushes from the far side.
18:16When they come, they come across here.
18:19When they put their head down, I just step down in here like this, and then I just watch their heads.
18:26And when their heads come across, by the time they're here they're past me so they don't see me.
18:33Because they're looking ahead.
18:35And I can just step up.
18:37I fly.
18:43There's been a lot of deer come by here.
18:45But they're laughing at me now because I miss them.
18:52I enjoy it.
18:53I just like being out in the bush with them and having the deer come so close.
18:58I mean, we're only looking at 30 feet.
19:00It's a beautiful night tonight, too.
19:08Beautiful night.
19:11Well, we were out hunting tonight.
19:13Got nothing.
19:19Well, they say after three strikes you're out.
19:22And I shot at three deer in the past hunting season.
19:26And I have missed three deer.
19:28I have seen probably close to 70 deer this past week.
19:35But no meat.
19:37I went deer hunting and there was no deer.
19:40None.
19:43Disappointed.
19:45I had my chances and I blew them.
19:49Now I'm never going hungry.
19:52Damaged.
19:53Bow hunting takes skill, luck, and patience.
20:00Plenty of patience.
20:01And that's tough because the pressure's on to find a deer.
20:05It's the pioneers' last chance to harvest some food from the land.
20:08Autumn has turned out to be Mother Nature's consolation prize, given to the pioneers for enduring a miserable summer.
20:22Evenings like this have always been one of the simple rewards of a life on the prairie.
20:28Best sampled in silence and then stowed away in memory.
20:32Well, it's about too dark to do any more hunting tonight.
20:40You can still see a shoot, but if you end up wounding one, it's going to take off in the bush.
20:45And I'm not going to be able to track it in the dark.
20:47I don't want to do that anyway.
20:49Chance losing it or something, so I'll have to come back another night.
20:52You know, it's been like three weeks we've been going, but we just have to keep at it.
20:57Keep going and hopefully we'll get something soon.
21:02But it was funny because I was thinking today, too, though, what a roller coaster we're on out here.
21:06Do you need the milk?
21:07Like, we've been in a little high lately because the weather's nice and I love the fall.
21:12But we've had really crappy times, too.
21:14It just seems out here it's off from one extreme or the other.
21:17We had the most rain in Manitoba in years.
21:20We had the most bugs in Manitoba in years.
21:23We've had the warmest fall in Manitoba in years.
21:26I think we have to have the most snow and the coldest winter in years.
21:30Yeah, I know. I said it's got to be the worst winter.
21:32I'm going to be disappointed if we have a really nice winter.
21:36Frank, don't even say it.
21:37It's true, though.
21:38That's a jinx.
21:39Oh, no.
21:40Then you get out there and start cutting wood.
21:47Why are you guys doing this in the dark?
21:52Because it's cool.
21:54It's getting dark so early we're not tired yet.
21:57We used to work in the summertime.
21:59We worked till 8 or 9 o'clock and it was light.
22:01Well, no, we were in the tent because of the bugs, but...
22:04But actually, we find if we go in now, it's so dark you feel like it's later,
22:07and you start getting tired and you want to go to bed till 9 at 9,
22:10so it's kind of a waste.
22:12Well, what I'm doing today is making a...
22:16We're going to have chicken noodle soup today.
22:18So I'm making the noodles.
22:20So, it's taken me like two hours so far.
22:23I've made the actual pass itself with flour and eggs.
22:27And now I've been cutting the spaghetti by hand.
22:33I don't know if you can see, my neck is kind of swollen.
22:37I got poison ivy on my face and my neck.
22:41Hey.
22:42What else was itchy?
22:48Well, let's just put it this way.
22:50If you get poison ivy on your hands,
22:54and then attempt to go pee...
22:58Hold your boys.
23:00Things happen.
23:03And...
23:04You can start to get itchy down there, too.
23:08We're calling them scratchy.
23:10And, uh, two went and picked up some plantain leaves.
23:13So then that night, Frank's sitting there,
23:15and he wraps his little penis all in leaves.
23:19He's sitting there holding these leaves on it.
23:22It looked like some hors d'oeuvre from some weird culture or something.
23:25It was too funny.
23:27Here he was in pain, and I've never laughed so hard for so long.
23:31I'd get up a night with him,
23:32and we'd try and ease the pain with some,
23:35I don't know, washcloth or something.
23:37Anyway, it was too funny.
23:38She just kept laughing at me over and over again.
23:40The pain I was going through was unbearable.
23:43And then he was so worried about it being headlines.
23:46Settler gets poison ivy in private parts or something.
23:49Poor Frankie.
23:50It's all healed, though.
23:58In the first week of October,
24:00Wisdom arrives in a horse-drawn cart.
24:02It's Mack Smith, a neighbour and a true pioneer.
24:06He's in poor health now,
24:08but he has crisp memories of the early days
24:10when he farmed with horses, just as the pioneers are now.
24:14Yeah, how about grab ahold of your missus?
24:16So where's the other foe?
24:18Oh, it's good to see you again.
24:20It's good to see you too.
24:21Yeah, another neighbour by a gum.
24:23How are you doing, Lana?
24:24Good?
24:25How's it good?
24:26Oh, yeah, you've got a straw roof, eh?
24:30Yeah.
24:31I lived on a farm down there by Stonewall.
24:35The Stonewall had log barns on it.
24:38They were good.
24:40This is the first building I've seen
24:42with the logs up and down.
24:44I have lots of memories of log buildings,
24:47but they're all laid the other way.
24:49I think this is the best way to do it.
24:52So you make it by good on what you've got.
24:55This is important.
24:57It's important for us as,
24:58I think I can say, an ignorant settler,
25:01to have an old-timer come and say
25:04that we're doing something right.
25:07Making these big jacks out of business, you know that?
25:10Well, let's take it right off and see how the...
25:14Just see how dry it is.
25:16The pioneers seek Mac's advice
25:18on maintaining the wagon.
25:20They use it almost every day,
25:22and if they overheat an axle,
25:24they'll be in trouble.
25:25And this old grease is the old stuff
25:28they used to use on wagon wheels.
25:32Years and years ago they used axle grease
25:36because that's a heavy wheel,
25:38and it had heavier loads,
25:40hauling grain, gravel and whatnot.
25:42In the old days you had to have grease it,
25:44it would stay with it.
25:45Wow, there's milk in there,
25:46there was the good axle stuff.
25:48Yeah, I want to copy it out.
25:51And of course, you know,
25:52they were still talking homesteader talk
25:53when I was a kid.
25:55There was lots of hardships.
25:57Yeah, it was cold, cold winters,
25:59and much colder than we have now.
26:01I'm sure they had hardships.
26:03And they'd leave to go to Winnipeg
26:04with a team of horses,
26:06and they'd sometimes make it one day
26:09because they get up in the middle of the night
26:10and start it out,
26:11maybe take a quart of wooden or something
26:13to sell to get money,
26:14stuff like this.
26:15So, you know, that's the kind of days they live through, eh?
26:18Pretty hard, you know.
26:20Bye, you ladies.
26:22Bye, Mac, thanks for coming by.
26:24We'll see you.
26:25Thanks, Stuart.
26:26See you sometime.
26:27I probably won't be back again this before spring.
26:30Well, maybe we'll blanket you up and get you in here.
26:33Bye-bye.
26:34Such a voice of authority.
26:36Now that I've been out here,
26:37it's funny, I don't know why so much more
26:39I want people to know what everyone went through,
26:41and it is amazing what so many of these people did
26:44and nobody knows, and he said,
26:46you know, young people now go get a job
26:47and everything's too easy, and it's true.
26:49It is.
26:50Like, as much as our life is more stressful
26:51with modern technology in certain ways,
26:53you know, cell phones and computers,
26:55we are so spoiled,
26:57and don't go through any physical hardships
26:59that these people did.
27:00Thank goodness we're four people that like to work.
27:02Well, Frank and I were even talking to them the other night,
27:04and we said if we had a little baby here,
27:06let's say a couple kids,
27:07and it was Frank and I and nobody else,
27:09there is no way.
27:10I can't imagine doing it.
27:11Like Frank said, we would be going to bed probably
27:14at one in the morning,
27:15and getting up at four in the morning to start again,
27:17and you'd be so exhausted,
27:19you'd be a robot.
27:20Like, you'd only do it because you'd starve if you wouldn't.
27:23We are tired as it is.
27:24Yeah, like I don't know how you do it.
27:26Yeah, yeah.
27:27But it has been very,
27:29there's some really wonderful things,
27:31I think, coming out of this for us as a couple.
27:34I'm sure for you guys.
27:36Mm-hmm.
27:39This honeymoon you're on.
27:43Two years, we're not honeymooning anymore.
27:45They're always to bed,
27:46they leave right after supper,
27:47and man...
27:48What?
27:49No, we do not!
27:50...social life at all with us,
27:51and here we want to play cards,
27:52and we want to...
27:53When's the last time you asked us to play cards?
27:55Because Tim's in hunting season,
27:56so he's attacking you.
27:57There is something about this hunting season,
28:00we have to say that.
28:01I've never seen him all over her,
28:02and he has been the past three weeks.
28:03I think something happens in hunting season,
28:05something with the hormones.
28:06It's a man instinct.
28:08Frank's hunting all year round.
28:18Oh no, this will be fine.
28:19Yeah, yeah.
28:20This is already stinky.
28:23I'm going this morning over to,
28:24I'm going this morning over to a neighbor's place.
28:27His dad, he's a dairy farmer,
28:29and his dad usually helps him.
28:31He's in the hospital right now,
28:32so I'm going over and helping him,
28:35I'm feeding the cows for him in the morning.
28:37I'm helping a neighbor out,
28:38and I'm feeding his cows,
28:40which I think is something so period appropriate.
28:42He really needs the help,
28:44and I can help him,
28:45but the way I'm feeding the cows
28:47is I don't think exactly 1875 way,
28:50which is something I have a problem with,
28:53but he really needs the help,
28:55and I can help him,
28:57so I think that it's something I should do anyway.
29:02Actually, I've learned a ton about cows.
29:14Just the way they are,
29:16and a lot about milking and everything,
29:19but I don't know if it's a lot simpler,
29:22that's for sure.
29:23It's a little bit different than feeding daisies.
29:25They feed the corny cows
29:27and they eat like 5,000 pounds of food every day.
29:29There's like six or seven different things
29:31you mix together.
29:33It's not like the old way.
29:34You just feed them one thing,
29:35barley or corn or something,
29:36and that was it.
29:40These guys found out on Sunday
29:41that my dad had a heart attack,
29:44and I've got a bit of a back problem right now,
29:47and these guys just,
29:49they were on their way to visit some other people,
29:52and they just said that was it.
29:54They're coming to help us,
29:55and they did.
29:56And you don't get much better neighbors than that.
30:00I think he's in a lot of pain this morning.
30:03He gets so sore so he can't milk cows,
30:06and I'm not sure what we'll do.
30:09It's nice that he's got some help.
30:12He farms a lot with horses,
30:21so we've used his horse knowledge so many times.
30:25He's been over teaching us and helping us with our horses,
30:28and right from the very first day helping us with our plow.
30:31So, yeah, we've needed him while we've been here.
30:35The past and the present blur together in this modern dairy barn.
30:41Lindsay Hamill uses Percheron horses for a lot of the farm chores.
30:45This is a golden opportunity for Tim to pick up some pointers
30:49from an expert horseman.
30:51You're alive still?
30:52You hold this bit with your hand,
30:57stick your thumb in his mouth,
30:59and push on his gum,
31:00and he'll open his mouth just like that.
31:02On the bottom gum?
31:03And up on the top.
31:08Manure is collected by a mechanical barn cleaner.
31:11It's Tim's job to haul it away.
31:13The Hamills say they save thousands on fuel and repair bills
31:17using horses instead of tractors.
31:20Meanwhile, Frank and Tim are discovering
31:22that farming has stayed a very tough way to make a living.
31:26I don't think I could be a dairy farmer.
31:30Every day you have to be there.
31:34Crack of dawn, your shovel and cow manure,
31:37till every day, 365 days a year,
31:42just ties you down.
31:44The moss is, we're having problems with the moss falling out,
31:57especially because you're trying to push it in one side
31:59and then push it in the other.
32:00So, just putting willow up to hold the moss in.
32:04And then when we take the moss on the other side
32:07and squish it through, it'll compact it more,
32:09and it'll have something to press against.
32:11So, we'll be able to get more moss in there.
32:14And in some parts of the house,
32:15we've also willowed on the inside.
32:17So, we've squished in between the two layers of willow.
32:20And the warmer, the better insulated we make our house,
32:23the less wood we're going to have to cut.
32:25So, that'll save us a lot of work in the come winter.
32:30Trying to do anything we can just to try and keep it warm inside.
32:34You know, we have no idea how cold it's going to be this winter.
32:36It's hard to tell even how much wood we're going to need.
32:39What are you doing?
32:41What are you doing?
32:42What are you doing?
32:45Are you getting in there or what?
32:47So, what are you doing?
32:48Just hanging out under the bed.
32:50In the bad books.
32:52Um, chinking under the bed.
32:54We foolishly re-chinked after everything was built.
32:57And, um, so now I've got to work around everything.
33:00It's not too fun, but...
33:01What do you mean you re-chinked?
33:02Um, we were going to stick with clay and we were going to chink on the inside.
33:08Um, once the weather got colder and then we decided to use moss.
33:11So, now we've done most of the outside and we've got to go back.
33:15Or, I've got to go back.
33:16It's a woman's job.
33:17It doesn't take hard labor.
33:19And, um, chink on the inside.
33:21So, I've got to put moss just kind of in it and around everything for insulation.
33:26Well, look at these pants, Alana.
33:29Turn around.
33:30I do have to fly before you go to town, too.
33:33Let me see your butt in them.
33:35What butt?
33:40These ones were, um, tight on me when I got here.
33:43These are these snazzy, um, old people dress pants.
33:47And, uh, these were tight.
33:50I wasn't able to, I barely able to get them up.
33:53Uh, done up.
33:54As you can see, there's, there's a lot more room, uh, now.
33:59I can just pull them on, take them off.
34:02Did I have a belly out to here before, or?
34:05I'll tell you about it one day.
34:07I've probably lost about 15 pounds.
34:12It was more, I think, but I gained a few back.
34:15So, we'll see.
34:16After Christmas, I'll gain five again, and then by March I should be good and skinny.
34:22Oh, that's nice.
34:25This is my period appropriate, uh, hunting hat they got me.
34:30Oh.
34:31So that, uh, no one will mistake me for a deer.
34:33Gilligan.
34:34Yes.
34:35So, I'll just go out with these and my, my green hunting pants here.
34:38And, uh, really, really snaz up the neighborhood.
34:43And, you know, they had so many hunting accidents and everything over the years that they decided
34:50we have to do that.
34:51There's a lot of things that we don't, there's some things that we don't do that they did back
34:55then, um, because it's not safe.
34:57Just like our stove.
34:58We have a modern stove because the stove they would have used is not safe.
35:03So, that's where they've, um, I think we've kind of gone against that period appropriateness
35:10type thing to, uh, go for safety instead.
35:13Which, uh, I don't have a problem with at all.
35:17Kim.
35:18Kim.
35:19How many deer are you bringing back tonight?
35:21Three.
35:22Three.
35:23Okay.
35:24You're sure of that?
35:25What happens if you don't?
35:26No sex.
35:28No sex till I get a deer.
35:31Deanna, you're laughing for the next few days.
35:35A month.
35:36Well, I've got our first kill here and I just cleaned it.
35:39And, uh, this is all the meat we get.
35:44Finally, Frank gets lucky.
35:47He's bagged a partridge.
35:49Hopefully this is a sign of luck and we're actually going to get some more stuff.
35:53Well, you're looking at the big warrior today.
35:56The partridge killer.
35:59First edible animal killed out here on the homestead.
36:08Frank tells me tonight how they mate.
36:11Because I kept hearing a thumping out here tonight.
36:13And then gets his spouse looking for it.
36:15I feel like I could just cry.
36:16Because another one took off when I hit it.
36:18Because there was another one right there.
36:20So now just for the sake of a little piece of partridge meat about this big,
36:23that would give us, like, half a stir fry.
36:26Now there's some lonely partridge out there.
36:29I don't think I like this hunting idea.
36:32I don't think I like this.
36:34That's where I work.
36:35Yeah.
36:36Okay.
36:37Okay.
36:38That's what we're doing.
36:39Okay.
36:40I'm pushing the on the ground.
36:41Right.
36:42Okay.
36:43Okay.
36:44Yeah.
36:45Okay.
36:46Okay.
36:47Okay.
36:48Okay.
36:49Okay.
36:50Okay.
36:51Okay.
36:52Okay.
36:54Okay.
36:55Okay.
36:56Okay.
36:57Okay.
36:58Okay.
36:59Okay.
37:00loading from the front the muzzle this is called a ball starter and we put the
37:09ball in pack it down and then we we put in the cap which provides the ignition
37:19of the of the gunpowder and then when we go to shoot it we bring it right back
37:29and then you can see there's two triggers one trigger is the one that sets the hair
37:34trigger up front this is the one that actually shoots this is the one that
37:38sets the front trigger so this is the ones when you take the back leave her
37:46back pull it right back so you hit a little flick okay now your front trigger
37:50set on a hair trigger
37:51she's shooting there she's not too bad eh she's a pretty good shot I'd say she's
38:04pretty good let's see if we can go get a deer now and see how steady she is on the
38:09hand
38:10then they came out from behind the bale there two of them and I'm like yeah I got two in
38:30one I ducked down under this bale here beside this bale and got my arm on the bale so I had
38:36a sure that was sure put the gun right in my shoulder like that put the sights in put it
38:44on the front quarter
38:48and I missed I can't believe I missed
38:58I missed a little bit
39:05and I missed you
39:07and it was pretty good
39:08and I missed that
39:09and I missed you
39:11and didn't get me
39:12I missed you
39:13and I missed you
39:15and I missed you
39:16and I missed you
39:17and you have the other day
39:19that's really funny
39:20and I was like
39:21and I was like
39:22and I was like
39:23It's winter!
39:43How's the old nags doing out here?
39:51Got their bums to the weather.
39:53Well?
39:54It's here!
39:55I just think what my dear friends are doing at home, having coffee at Tim Horton at a nice
40:11warm place.
40:12When the snow started to fall, what was going through your mind?
40:18Well, I heard the rain all night, so I thought, oh good, it still hasn't snowed, eh?
40:21And then we woke up and there it was all white!
40:24And I thought, oh my goodness, we're not ready.
40:26That's what I thought.
40:27You're not ready?
40:28We're not ready.
40:29Why?
40:30We would be, well we wanted to get more wood.
40:33And the road is so bad.
40:35It's just the whole winter ahead of us, it's going to be just terrible.
40:38It's got a lot harder.
40:39Yeah, everything's going to be harder, outside.
40:45It's November 7th, and winter has arrived on the same day the pioneers are scheduled to
40:52pick up some badly needed supplies.
40:55They have no choice.
40:57They must make the four-mile trip to town.
40:59The question is, how will the wagon work in this wet snow?
41:06You just have to hold it on there.
41:08Good.
41:09Step up easy.
41:10Easy.
41:11Come on.
41:12Step.
41:13That's the part here that Mac was saying on the wheels, that the wagons don't work in
41:22the winter time because they act like a big snowman, and then the wheel picks up the snow
41:27and then it'll break off a chunk, and then it becomes really rough and it can break the
41:32spokes and stuff.
41:33So we're going to try a little experiment here.
41:35We're going to bring a shovel and just hold them on and act as like a scraper or something.
41:40But yeah, Duke's been bad lately, so hopefully he'll behave.
41:45If you guys aren't back in five hours, Dan will be in a panic, so come and tell if they're
41:49okay.
41:57Frank and Tim are being tested by this first snowfall, but it's really just a rehearsal
42:02for what's coming.
42:04Frank is going to get his wish for a tough winter.
42:07A vast Arctic air mass is about to settle over the prairies, and the pioneers will face
42:12the coldest December in 120 years.
42:16Thank you, fellas.
42:18It's good.
42:20It's a good week.
42:22It's a good week.
42:23It's a good week.
42:43It's a good week.
42:44This early winter storm has also caught the production company by surprise.
43:01They're all wrapped.
43:02They're all going to be wrapped, fine.
43:04And that's your oven seal's in there as well.
43:07Okay, and they gave me some extra glue for it, too.
43:10That's the best I could do because they didn't have the wide kind.
43:14Back in the day.
43:15So, use that for starters.
43:17Do you have our winter boots?
43:19No, no.
43:20Mike was going to be looking into that.
43:22Guess what?
43:23I know, I know.
43:25It's snowy, I know.
43:26This is winter.
43:29And guess what?
43:30These are summer.
43:34And guess what?
43:36I have cold feet.
43:44I think this whole winter psychological honesty is a five-month mental challenge.
44:09That's what it's going to be.
44:11This is just going to be trying not to go nuts for five months.
44:14Yeah.
44:15And trying to keep busy.
44:17I think the mental part of it will be probably harder than the first five months of the physical part we had, too.
44:24The first five months were so hard, but you know what?
44:26We didn't have time to think about it.
44:27You came in from those nightmare days, and you were asleep in half an hour.
44:30And you'd get up, and you'd have to get right back out there.
44:32Now all we're going to have the time to do is think, and that's it.
44:38Oh, we have each other, though.
44:40We have each other.
44:41Oh, do we ever.
44:43In what, 10 by 12?
44:46Yeah.
44:47Yep.
44:47I'll be singing her songs all winter.
44:51It's going to be a long winter.
44:55I'm going to stay out here on Tuesday, sometimes.
44:57I don't care, is that?
44:58Okay, the international date line is right there, just down the trail.
45:02Okay, so you guys keep your watch at whatever you've done, change it, and you'll remember.
45:07You're just standard, standard time.
45:10You're a daily date.
45:11You'll be the abnormal.
45:12We'll just see.
45:13We'll just see.
45:13Well, if we figure out lunch time and short time, it honestly doesn't matter if one of us changes the other one, does it?
45:18Mm-hmm.
45:19Yeah.
45:19Because you've just got to remember to adjust yours all the time.
45:21Yeah.
45:22And we're just always on.
45:23If someone says one, it means one.
45:24You're the one that has to remember, okay, it's not one, it's whatever.
45:26And just don't tell anybody that we're on a different time schedule so that it doesn't confuse them.
45:32If we don't change, is it easier for me to do chores in the morning and you to do chores at night?
45:39Yes, it is, because at your time, it's later.
45:42Yes, like when it's 6.30, 7.30 for us, it's 6.30 for them.
45:45So if you did chores at 7.30 and you did chores at the evening at 6.30, then we'd be exact for 12 hours.
Be the first to comment