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00:00:00Bringing extreme temperatures and whiteout conditions.
00:00:03Officials are urging residents to remain indoors and avoid driving due to snow accumulation and ice.
00:00:08Please stay off the roads.
00:00:11Let's get out of here!
00:00:12Everybody is just kind of scattering.
00:00:15Full-blown state of emergency.
00:00:17It's really starting to come down.
00:00:20We gotta go. It's like no time to waste.
00:00:22Hurry up!
00:00:24We don't want to get stranded on this homestead.
00:00:27Here we go.
00:00:31When it comes to the basics of homesteads, these people are striking out.
00:00:37You don't have water to even water a plant.
00:00:39No.
00:00:39I can feel water falling from the sky right now.
00:00:42You're drowning in water, but dying of thirst.
00:00:46Our dream is to have our multi-generational homesteads.
00:00:49I want to have our own produce and be able to live off the land, you know?
00:00:53These boys are invested. They are putting work in.
00:00:56We built the cabin in a short amount of time.
00:00:59If this house was in town, they would condemn it.
00:01:02We are not too proud to say we don't know everything.
00:01:06We want to learn and we need help.
00:01:08There's no future homestead unless we figure out water.
00:01:11What do you see?
00:01:12Looks pretty dry.
00:01:13The animals' lives are at stake.
00:01:16Whoa.
00:01:17We need to help them now.
00:01:19There's a full-blown blizzard on the way to the homestead.
00:01:22We're going to help this family or we're going to die trying.
00:01:26It's good to be in a new state.
00:01:47Arkansas is the land of extremes.
00:01:50This place gets all four seasons in one day.
00:01:54It's 33 degrees now.
00:01:56It's going to be 14 degrees tonight.
00:02:00Pull up your homesteader pants because it's going to get cold, wet, and right now it could snow.
00:02:07It's late winter and the rainies answer a plea from deep within northwest Arkansas where a young family's struggling homestead is besieged by Mother Nature.
00:02:23Situated in the rolling hills of the Ozark Mountains, the area is known for its rich timber and milling industry, owing to the region's dense forests and plentiful rivers.
00:02:34However, the weather extremes make it a gamble for the unprepared.
00:02:41Unpredictable forecasts are common, and harsh summer droughts turn to frigid winter storms, bringing up to 50 inches of annual rainfall and severe flash flooding.
00:02:55And without fundamental survival needs, northwest Arkansas can quickly break determined but inexperienced homesteaders.
00:03:04My name is Ashley Curry, and this is my husband, Chris Curry.
00:03:10We live on a 40-acre homestead in northwest Arkansas with our two boys.
00:03:15Balen and Malachi.
00:03:16We moved out to our homestead at the end of 2020, and every day we all wake up feeling blessed.
00:03:24And so this property was our miracle, and we named it Miracle Mountain Homestead.
00:03:30We have goats here, chickens.
00:03:32Quail, a couple guineas.
00:03:34We sell the goats' offspring and sell eggs and chicks.
00:03:39The quail are a good meat source because we want to be self-sustainable.
00:03:44And our dream is to have our entire family on this homestead, meaning my parents, my husband's parents, and our children, and for this homestead to provide for generations to come.
00:03:57I'd love to inherit the homestead, build upon the homestead myself.
00:04:01Just having all the animals is really cool, and having all this place to explore.
00:04:08When we first purchased the land, we built the cabin in a short amount of time before winter hit.
00:04:14We did what we had to do, and we didn't think it was going to be permanent.
00:04:18But northwest Arkansas is completely unpredictable, and we have gotten in a little over our heads.
00:04:25We have a lot of flash flooding, and that essentially has tore our foundation up.
00:04:30We have jacked up the house at least three times to try to level it out, where we can just open our front door without issues.
00:04:40And over time, it just keeps settling and drooping, and we're having to spend the time fixing that instead of working on permanent housing.
00:04:49And now it's just been one problem after another.
00:04:53Another big challenge right now is water.
00:04:56I'm positive that there's water here.
00:04:58Unfortunately, it's very expensive to dig well.
00:05:00So we started collecting rainwater.
00:05:03But the catchment tanks, they're not completely enclosed.
00:05:06They're exposed to the elements.
00:05:08We have found frogs in our water.
00:05:10We have found disgusting algae.
00:05:12And now we haul water two to four times a week.
00:05:17We have barely enough water to sustain our daily needs, so we are unable to grow any food.
00:05:23And the amount of money that we're having to spend for a family of four each week at the grocery store is a huge weight on our shoulders.
00:05:30We've been motivated.
00:05:32We've tried.
00:05:33We do our best every single day.
00:05:35But the dream seems harder to reach with each obstacle we have to overcome.
00:05:40Without water security, shelter security, and food security, I'm not sure how much longer we're going to be able to survive out here.
00:05:50Rainius, please come save us.
00:06:03Hello.
00:06:04Hello.
00:06:05Welcome to Arkansas.
00:06:06Ashley.
00:06:07Christopher.
00:06:08Christopher.
00:06:08Nice to meet you.
00:06:09Marty Rainey.
00:06:10How old are you guys?
00:06:11Eight.
00:06:12And I'm 13.
00:06:13How long has this family been on this property?
00:06:15Four years.
00:06:16Has anything ever gone wrong in the last four years out here?
00:06:20A few weeks ago, one of our goats had babies, and some of them frozen, and now some of our goats are depressed.
00:06:28Oh.
00:06:29So that's not good news.
00:06:30No.
00:06:31What is the goal here?
00:06:33The goal is to be self-sustainable, but we've never been able to grow any food because we don't have a source of water.
00:06:39I can feel water falling from the sky right now, right?
00:06:43Most of our water that we wash dishes with, feed the animals with, comes from the rain.
00:06:48Okay.
00:06:48We just don't have enough to catch the rain.
00:06:50We are not too proud to say we don't know everything, we don't know what we're doing, and we want to learn, and we need help.
00:06:59That's a good place to start.
00:07:01After we met, both of us just knew we were each other's person, and that the future gave us two beautiful boys and led to us starting a business.
00:07:13In 2013, we opened up the first organic juice and smoothie bar in Arkansas, and we successfully ran it for nine years.
00:07:22Running the business was exactly the example that I wanted for our kids, to show them how to chop the fruits and vegetables and run them through the juicer, and it was a beautiful thing to watch.
00:07:35And then when 2020 hit, we struggled through COVID.
00:07:40And we had to shut down the business.
00:07:43I felt like a failure, but I had to stay motivated and stay positive.
00:07:48We had lived out here for a few months, and it was very sad closing the juice bar, but we started to be able to focus our energies on the homestead.
00:07:58I always wanted that juice bar to provide financially for my mom and dad, and so it became vital to us to be able to still use the homestead to support and help both of our parents,
00:08:14to provide a place where they could build a home and not have to worry about paying for their care.
00:08:21It is a way to provide and connect everyone.
00:08:25My dad actually had started building his cabin for one day in the future, but without a source of water, it is not even an option.
00:08:39All right, what am I looking at here, sir?
00:08:41So this is the rain catchment system that we first started off with, and so the water catches on the bottom,
00:08:48and then we have a sump pump that pumps it to the top, where we have an inline pump that pumps it to the house.
00:08:55Are you hauling water, too?
00:08:56Yeah, if it's too dry, then we haul it from a spring eight miles down the road or so.
00:09:02Okay. Have you looked around here for water?
00:09:05I personally think there's water right here, and the sycamore trees just keep on coming back.
00:09:10I heard that that's a good sign of water. They need a lot of water.
00:09:14This part of Arkansas, we've got 50 inches of rain.
00:09:17Wow.
00:09:18So if you've got a couple sycamore trees, that doesn't mean anything to me.
00:09:22In a small tour of this property, I'm seeing rain water everywhere.
00:09:27But when I look at the water they're catching in those tanks, it's certainly not potable.
00:09:33The really big question is, what's going on?
00:09:37I knew we got a lot of rain because we lose so much water.
00:09:40What do you mean, lose it?
00:09:41That one overflows, this one overflows.
00:09:44We had these two.
00:09:46Yes.
00:09:46But these got busted and frozen.
00:09:48Okay.
00:09:49If this fills up with water, it just goes over the top.
00:09:52Yeah.
00:09:52That concerns me a little bit because your house is right here.
00:09:56What kind of a foundation does this have?
00:09:59This is a pallet foundation.
00:10:03Hold on.
00:10:04There is no such thing as a pallet foundation.
00:10:10It wasn't the plan.
00:10:11Our plan was to live in our camper and save money and then get a traditional foundation.
00:10:16And then my father-in-law said, we can build you something to live in.
00:10:20I'm just going to say it right now.
00:10:22You've got a problem.
00:10:24This pains me.
00:10:26It's just a matter of time with the water overflowing.
00:10:28It's coming this direction under the house.
00:10:30These pallets are on the clock right now.
00:10:36Building your house on these pallets, they're going to pay for that someday.
00:10:40So this homestead has some issues.
00:10:46So we cleared this area.
00:10:48And in my mind, it would be a good spot for a garden because it has the potential for a lot of sunshine.
00:10:56Have you attempted to garden before?
00:10:58We have not because you can't keep a plant alive.
00:11:01You can't water it.
00:11:03So you don't have water to even water a plant?
00:11:05No.
00:11:06What was the dream initially?
00:11:09We wanted this to be a multi-generational homestead.
00:11:12We wanted to provide a place where my parents and Chris's parents could live here.
00:11:17But again, when you don't have the basic necessity of water, it's not possible.
00:11:22This is a lot of pressure.
00:11:23This homestead is pretty concerning to me because not only do I see a big family, a ton of animals,
00:11:32for a homestead with no water, it looks like there's water everywhere.
00:11:36And right now, I'm realizing there's no future homestead unless we figure out water.
00:11:42This is the goat barn.
00:11:50You're having babies in the middle of winter?
00:11:52How did that happen?
00:11:53We really need to separate the boy goats and the mama goats from all the rest of them.
00:11:58But you didn't.
00:11:59There was actually more goats and they ended up freezing because it was too cold.
00:12:02We've had to actually bring in the mama and baby new goats inside because of how cold it's been.
00:12:09Do we have to do that tonight?
00:12:11Yeah.
00:12:11Yeah.
00:12:12Holy smokes.
00:12:15There might be 100 animals on this homestead.
00:12:17They've lost count at this point.
00:12:19Some of them are very young goats and they're all in danger of the wet, cold weather.
00:12:24And tonight, it's supposed to be 17 degrees.
00:12:28And right now, we have no way to save any of these animals.
00:12:33This is our quail run slash coop.
00:12:37How are these quail doing in the cold?
00:12:39Not very well.
00:12:42Whenever it rains like this and gets really muddy, they can get sick that way.
00:12:46Quail, when healthy, are a valuable homestead resource for quick egg and meat production,
00:12:53providing not only protein, but also a potential income source.
00:12:58Because of their small size, quail costs less to raise than traditional poultry,
00:13:03making them an efficient option for small-scale farming or homesteading.
00:13:10I definitely think it needs a lot more protection from the elements.
00:13:15Do you have some hay?
00:13:15Yeah.
00:13:16Can you go get some?
00:13:17Yeah.
00:13:18Okay.
00:13:18Let's go do it right now.
00:13:23Do you think that's about enough?
00:13:25I'll tell you what.
00:13:26I feel like the temperature's dropping as we speak.
00:13:30Oh, man.
00:13:31Just get all in those egg crates.
00:13:39You think that one's alive in there, sleeping, or you think it's not?
00:13:43I think it passed.
00:13:47Okay.
00:13:48All right.
00:13:52I'm really worried about the loss of life on this homestead.
00:13:55This is a food source for them.
00:13:57This is a source of income.
00:13:59And Balin and Malachi have a lot of time invested into this livestock dream.
00:14:05They are putting work in.
00:14:07And when you raise livestock, a predator can come in many forms.
00:14:12But right now, the big killer is bad cold weather.
00:14:18A lot more is going to have to happen if you're going to have a better success raising livestock in the wintertime.
00:14:24Let's just cut right to the chase.
00:14:36Food, shelter, water.
00:14:37What did you guys discover when it comes to food?
00:14:41There's no garden.
00:14:42There's no greenhouse.
00:14:43They haven't attempted gardening because there's no water.
00:14:47I actually feel for Ashley, and she's definitely at the breaking point.
00:14:52There's a lot of livestock, but there's no separation of any of the animals.
00:14:59However, the quail have their own spot, but it's abysmal.
00:15:04And we found a dead quail in there.
00:15:08They've been here four years.
00:15:10They've not produced one drop of water from the ground here.
00:15:14I don't know how that's possible.
00:15:16Everywhere you look, there's water.
00:15:17There's water running right here.
00:15:19So they're not self-sufficient, self-sustaining.
00:15:22How are they doing in shelter?
00:15:24I would say they're in trouble.
00:15:26They built a house on pallets.
00:15:28It's only a matter of time before that floor does start to rot.
00:15:31But it's such a daunting task.
00:15:34I think we're going to set it on a back burner and try to start focusing on what?
00:15:39Water.
00:15:40Exactly.
00:15:40How are you guys?
00:15:47Pretty good.
00:15:48We've made some observations about the barns and the pens and the wet ground.
00:15:55You're drowning in water, but dying of thirst.
00:15:59Your hope is dying.
00:16:01It's affecting your lives.
00:16:03It's affecting these livestock.
00:16:04It's affecting everything.
00:16:05I understand something died since we've been here, quail.
00:16:09Every time it rains, we lose quail.
00:16:11Every time it rains?
00:16:12Every time it rains.
00:16:13It's a heavy one, it seems.
00:16:15It's because they're on the ground.
00:16:16When it comes to the basics of homesteads, these beautiful people are striking out.
00:16:25What can we do to help them?
00:16:27I'm not sure I know the answer.
00:16:29Because this homestead is definitely intimidating and challenging, but we'll throw everything we
00:16:35have at it.
00:16:36Our work is cut out for us, all right?
00:16:38That said, you're not happy.
00:16:40There's problems here, and that has to change.
00:16:42Good morning!
00:16:59It's day two on the Currys' 40-acre homestead in northwest Arkansas.
00:17:05The sun came out.
00:17:06That's good.
00:17:07What's the forecast?
00:17:08Do you know?
00:17:08Might be some heavier weather tomorrow.
00:17:11Okay.
00:17:11And on the main road to the property, Marty and Chris begin searching for a permanent
00:17:17water source.
00:17:19How's the animals?
00:17:20They're doing great.
00:17:21Okay.
00:17:22We put some more pine shavings in the quail and then also did a wind block with some particle
00:17:26board around the bottom edges.
00:17:27Makes me feel good.
00:17:28That's good news.
00:17:30Well, our mission here is to try to get that thing on your property.
00:17:34We need water.
00:17:37Our number one issue is water.
00:17:40I've found some areas that there could be a spring towards the cabin and towards their
00:17:47sycamore trees.
00:17:48So we'll start in those spots and see if we can dig a big hole that fills up with water.
00:17:53We'll be good to go.
00:17:54Marty will search the homestead for a permanent water source, digging 10 feet down in the most
00:18:02promising areas near the curry's cabin.
00:18:04Once he determines the source to be viable, he'll install a culvert in the spring, adding
00:18:10gravel to filter the water, before finally digging a trench towards the cabin and installing
00:18:17a water line to gravity feed the precious resource to the family's home.
00:18:25We clear?
00:18:27Clear.
00:18:28Cool.
00:18:31Marty and I were going to search for water close to the house.
00:18:36Not being able to find the solution or make this work is just something that is in the
00:18:40back of my head.
00:18:42I think it ties back to the business ending the way that it did.
00:18:45But it's still hard not to feel like it was a failure.
00:18:49And if this dream of ours were to fall apart, I just don't know how I would deal with that.
00:18:55Here we go.
00:18:57So Christopher says there could be water close to the house.
00:19:01So the answers to all their problems might just be right here.
00:19:08We're going to have to dig deep, hopefully not too many times.
00:19:15It got cold last night.
00:19:22Yeah.
00:19:22Yeah.
00:19:23Hopefully we're able to save those quail from a bad night.
00:19:29Okay.
00:19:30You came in here and did more.
00:19:32Yeah.
00:19:33Put some pine pellets and pine shavings.
00:19:36That's amazing.
00:19:37So none of them died.
00:19:38None of them died?
00:19:39You counted them?
00:19:40Yep.
00:19:40Shake my head.
00:19:43Finding out that Balin and Malachi went the extra mile and added more insulation over the
00:19:49night to save those quail, that just shows me how much they're invested in this entire
00:19:54livestock journey.
00:19:56Okay.
00:19:57It's only going to be a matter of time before the rain trickles through and it starts seeping
00:20:02in and all this is going to be turned back into mud.
00:20:05And so the only way we can really help these quail is by stopping that rain from coming in
00:20:11here once and for all and getting them up off the ground.
00:20:16Matt will remodel the quail coop by first removing the battered roof and constructing a replacement
00:20:22with upcycled materials found on the property.
00:20:26Next, he'll utilize more salvaged parts to create nesting boxes elevated above the muddy
00:20:32ground.
00:20:33Finally, he'll insulate with straw, ensuring year-round survivability against Arkansas's
00:20:40elements.
00:20:43First things first, we need to replace this roofing.
00:20:48I'm excited that Matt's here and I'm really looking forward to work with him.
00:20:53Lift it.
00:20:54Boom like a waterfall.
00:20:55Let's let it pour off this way.
00:20:56Pour this off real quick.
00:20:58It's not all yet.
00:20:59We're willing to do whatever it takes to improve the animals' home and anything we can do to
00:21:04help them get better.
00:21:06Hopefully, it'll be a lot easier around here.
00:21:08Now that we have that sagging roofing out of the way, let's build a proper roof on this
00:21:12thing.
00:21:13Okay.
00:21:13Let's do it.
00:21:15You ready to start making some changes?
00:21:18I'm ready.
00:21:20Downhill from the cabin.
00:21:22There's sun.
00:21:24Yes.
00:21:24Oh my gosh.
00:21:25Thank the Lord.
00:21:27Ashley wants this homesteading dream for the kids, and the fact of the matter is, it's
00:21:32not working.
00:21:32So I want to get her to a place where she's growing food.
00:21:36I think first things first for me is try to push out this footprint a little bit.
00:21:41The amount of sun that you already get this early in the morning is a good sign, and I feel
00:21:46like the options are pretty limited when it comes to how much land you cleared.
00:21:51Yeah.
00:21:51So this is a good jump start, so I'll take it.
00:21:53Okay.
00:21:54Ready?
00:21:54Do it.
00:21:55Okay.
00:21:57Woo!
00:22:04Back uphill towards the family's cabin.
00:22:08That's not good.
00:22:09I don't see anything.
00:22:09It's not happy!
00:22:20That's deep.
00:22:22There's nothing that resembles a spring.
00:22:26Definitely empty.
00:22:27I think what we'll do is we'll fill this hole back up.
00:22:30Before it gets dark, we'll try to find one up there.
00:22:33It'll be a miracle, but guess what?
00:22:35I'll take it.
00:22:37Coffee break's over.
00:22:38Back to work.
00:22:43Malachi.
00:22:45Grab it and bring it up there.
00:22:46It's pretty light.
00:22:47While Balin and Malachi gather material to build a roof for the quail pen, Matt second-guesses
00:22:55his game plan.
00:22:56My first priority is protecting the food sources for these homesteaders, but me and these boys
00:23:02are going to take two days making these quails safe, and we're not going to have done one
00:23:07thing for the goats.
00:23:10Usually, I wouldn't have time to build a structure, but on this property, it's getting very cold.
00:23:16I'm really concerned about these animals, and I need help, because I want to be able to
00:23:21save them all at the same time.
00:23:26Hey, Misty, can we talk?
00:23:28Yeah.
00:23:29What's up?
00:23:30This might be the craziest request.
00:23:33It's going to be colder tonight, and I don't have time to save both these quail and goats.
00:23:39Okay.
00:23:39And so, I am asking for your help to literally stop working here and come and help with the
00:23:48livestock.
00:23:50I do think the animals' lives are at stake, and it's very important that we drop everything
00:23:56and we help them now.
00:23:57This is just one of those homesteads where we're not going to just go on with business
00:24:04as usual when animals' lives are in danger.
00:24:08And this is one homestead where they might not get a greenhouse.
00:24:13I mean, like, now it's just sinking in.
00:24:18Yeah, it's starting to sink in.
00:24:20Um, okay.
00:24:22Life takes priority over everything else, so let's go take a look and see what we can
00:24:28do and come up with a plan.
00:24:29Okay, let's save some livestock.
00:24:31Let's go.
00:24:38Let's talk about a few things.
00:24:40What are you doing right now with temperatures this low with kids that young?
00:24:45We do a deep litter method where the manure gets covered with fresh straw so it radiates
00:24:52heat at night, but we have some that were born just four or five days ago, and so we
00:24:58have been bringing them in at night and putting them in a dog kennel to keep them safe.
00:25:04Newborn goats, or kids, require special care in their first few weeks of life.
00:25:09And since they are especially vulnerable to hypothermia, winter is among the worst times
00:25:15for breeding.
00:25:17Because of this, breeders will strategically separate males and females to keep from mating
00:25:22year-round.
00:25:26Where are they right now?
00:25:29Whoa.
00:25:31Those guys are little.
00:25:33Kids in the dead of wintertime.
00:25:35Yeah, it's awful.
00:25:36I'm so glad Matt called me over because what is happening at the livestock pens is not good.
00:25:42We have four-day-old baby goats in freezing temperatures in the dead of wintertime, and
00:25:48it's this full-blown 12-alarm situation that one person isn't going to be able to fix.
00:25:55He's shivering.
00:25:58Yeah, this is way too cold for these four-day-old kids.
00:26:02We're going to change some things starting today.
00:26:06This is full-blown emergency.
00:26:13Oh, yeah.
00:26:16It's okay.
00:26:19So we have some four-day-old kids.
00:26:22The temperatures are 8 degrees last night.
00:26:23It's about 20 degrees right now in the sun.
00:26:27There is not going to be loss of life on our watch.
00:26:29All right, what did you find?
00:26:33Found some heat lamps that we used for our brooders last year with the chicks.
00:26:36Okay.
00:26:37Well, we'll take what we can get.
00:26:38Okay.
00:26:39Okay.
00:26:39When we started homesteading, it was all excitement and tackling one thing at a time.
00:26:47And after four years of it, the long-term vision is getting harder to maintain because the weight of everything just is so heavy.
00:26:57And the goats are a very large part of our homestead, so knowing that they can survive through a night of cold is exactly what we need right now.
00:27:07I think we block this off from anybody getting in.
00:27:12Right now, this free-for-all breeding program leading to the consequence of having babies born in the dead of wintertime is not great.
00:27:20We want to prevent this from ever happening again, right, which is separating this buck.
00:27:24So starting with a structure and a permanent fenced-in area, I'm thinking like a shared space when it comes to this barn and then a separation pen for the buck.
00:27:35Perfect.
00:27:35Okay, here we go.
00:27:38Misty will build an 8-by-20-foot barn to house and divide the goats.
00:27:43First, she'll mill cedar trees from the property for dimensional lumber, including the corner posts and frame.
00:27:50Once the structure is enclosed, she'll put in separate stalls for the buck, does, and baby goats in order to control breeding and prevent unnecessary loss of life.
00:28:09Okay, first rock in.
00:28:11Better than a pallet.
00:28:12Better than a pallet.
00:28:14First step, we're good.
00:28:16And right now, we need to figure out what this framing is.
00:28:19But the good news is, I look around and I see a ton of materials that we can use.
00:28:24And the next step will be to start sourcing lumber.
00:28:27All right, I'm going to just kind of backfill a little bit and then we will set the next one.
00:28:32Here we go.
00:28:41The morning of day three on the Curry's homestead.
00:28:44Nice and clean.
00:28:45Marty, Chris, and foreman Clint shift gears momentarily from the water hunt to source lumber for the livestock builds.
00:28:54Just a kiss.
00:28:55That's it.
00:29:02Need another hand?
00:29:03Who is this?
00:29:04This is my father, Rick.
00:29:05Oh, nice to meet you.
00:29:07So when you come here to work, you're just stopping by, passing through, what's happening?
00:29:10Well, I come here to work.
00:29:12This homestead would not be possible without my dad.
00:29:16He helped us build our small home and he started building his cabin on the homestead.
00:29:22But if there is not a source of water, there is no way he could stay here forever.
00:29:29I can do anything.
00:29:30You can do anything.
00:29:31Anything.
00:29:32We're doing a little bit of logging.
00:29:33We guys want to stake these logs out.
00:29:35You interested?
00:29:36I'm ready to hit it.
00:29:37Let's go.
00:29:38All right.
00:29:39Okay, that's two.
00:29:49We're going to start speeding up.
00:29:52Later that day, Matt, Baylin, and Malachi salvaged materials from the homestead to fortify the quail coop.
00:30:02The salvage is going really good.
00:30:04The boys are working fast.
00:30:05And we're definitely finding enough materials for the roof rafters and every screw that we've taken out, we're going to use again.
00:30:13And so, I mean, heck, we got a box of screws here that's worth 20 bucks.
00:30:17And we pretty much have all the fasteners we need, all the framing we need.
00:30:21So we're going to have a roof on this thing before the sun goes down.
00:30:24We're just going to butt this up just like so.
00:30:28Screw it to one of our scrap pieces.
00:30:31Matt is teaching us about building scabs for the wood to expend it, for the roof to have proper shelter for the quail.
00:30:42Let it rip and then bring it up to the wood.
00:30:44Let it rip!
00:30:48One day I hope to build, like, my own little place on the homestead.
00:30:51So I think it's cool that we get to learn more stuff to be able to help any other we can around on the homestead.
00:31:01That's good.
00:31:03Malachi and Balin are really good to work with because they already do their chores.
00:31:08Okay, don't drop it.
00:31:10Why not?
00:31:10They just need a little direction on where to put their time and efforts in because those skills are just little building blocks that build into greater confidence to help the homestead.
00:31:23All right, now that we've raised this wall up five and a half inches, let's get the rafters on here and let's put a proper roof on this thing.
00:31:29We're pretty excited.
00:31:30This new roof is going to block the quail from the wind and the rain.
00:31:35I think we're going to have no more quail deaths.
00:31:38All right, let's keep working.
00:31:39Back uphill.
00:31:50Look out, we're going to go for it.
00:31:52Marty's water search pushes on.
00:31:54As he breaks ground near the sycamore trees, Chris suspects are a sign of an ample water source.
00:32:01I'm looking for a water source close to the house.
00:32:05I've spent more of my time than I expected.
00:32:08But I'll never sleep well at night if I don't try.
00:32:13What we're trying to do right now is follow up on your sycamore theory.
00:32:17There's a sycamore, there's a sycamore.
00:32:22We're digging right between them.
00:32:23We'll give it a little bit more.
00:32:27We dug probably deeper than we dug the first time.
00:32:30And so far, we found a bunch of clay that wasn't very promising.
00:32:34But hopefully, we can find a large quantity of water so we can actually survive and keep going on the homestead.
00:32:41Look around this edge.
00:32:43Is anything seeping in anywhere?
00:32:45What do you see?
00:32:48What do you see?
00:32:49Looks pretty dry.
00:32:50All right.
00:32:52All right.
00:32:53This is the second hole I've dug.
00:32:56It's not promising.
00:32:58I appreciate you trying.
00:33:00There's nothing in there.
00:33:02No water.
00:33:03And I haven't even begun to figure out a way to fix their pallet foundation.
00:33:08Good!
00:33:08At this point, we will need a miracle.
00:33:21Okay.
00:33:22Now it's raining.
00:33:24Not my favorite conditions to find water.
00:33:27After striking out twice in their hunt for a dependable water source,
00:33:32Chris leads Marty on the far edge of the homestead for what might be their final hope.
00:33:37I'm looking for a spring that's so deep that's running on top of the bedrock
00:33:42that I can convince myself that it's not surface rainwater.
00:33:49So these logging roads were already here.
00:33:52Oh, nice.
00:33:53They must have just timbered it a couple years before we got here.
00:33:57This was just forest floor this time last year.
00:33:59Oh, wow.
00:34:00It's really flowing there.
00:34:02I mean, look at this.
00:34:03What's going on here?
00:34:04Where's that volume coming from right there?
00:34:06I think that's coming out of the road.
00:34:09It looks like it, yeah.
00:34:10It looks like there's more.
00:34:10It's kind of trailing.
00:34:11Okay.
00:34:19Hey!
00:34:21Look at this road.
00:34:23Where's all this water coming from?
00:34:25Correct me if I'm wrong, but that looks like a spring.
00:34:30It does.
00:34:32When it dries up, we're not sure.
00:34:34I mean, if you go deep enough, that could be still there, but...
00:34:37If we could find water right here, is that better than what you have now?
00:34:40For sure.
00:34:41Look at this.
00:34:42Look at it bubbling.
00:34:42So this is where you find springs, on the side of a bank, on the side of a mountain, on a bench where the water settles.
00:34:52I think it's just shouting at us to investigate, so let's do that.
00:34:57Let's do it.
00:34:57It's coming up right in here.
00:35:09I didn't realize that rock was so big, it's in the road, so it's got to go.
00:35:13That thing looks a little wet.
00:35:25That looks like a lot of freaking water.
00:35:27That is a lot of water.
00:35:28It's gushing in.
00:35:31I mean, a five-gallon bucket would be overflowing right now.
00:35:34Well, that's a really good sign.
00:35:36We're going to keep digging.
00:35:37All right, let's go down, bud.
00:35:38If we dig a big hole, maybe it'll fill in.
00:35:43And if it does, we might create yet another homestead miracle.
00:35:58Man, are we glad to see you.
00:36:01Over in the new livestock grounds, Misty brings in help to get the goat barn started.
00:36:07Misty, how's it going?
00:36:08Dave Burns.
00:36:09Dave Burns, nice to meet you.
00:36:11This build is all about using materials on hand.
00:36:13So we called in this guy who does a mill.
00:36:16And I see an opportunity to teach Ashley how to mill the trees on their property.
00:36:20We actually have a bunch of trees already bucked up and ready to mill.
00:36:24We're ready.
00:36:24Okay, I'm going to grab you some logs.
00:36:27Have you ever worked on a mill before?
00:36:28No, this is awesome.
00:36:29Okay, is there any hydraulics?
00:36:31This is just manpower.
00:36:32This is full manual.
00:36:33Yeah, full manual.
00:36:34Yeah.
00:36:35It's what separates the women from the men.
00:36:38Okay, I'm going to grab the first log and come right back.
00:36:42All right, let's make some sawdust.
00:36:43Misty and I are working on a barn to keep all of the goats in but separated at the same
00:36:53time so we won't have unplanned kidding in the middle of winter.
00:36:57We've had 10 kids die this winter because they were born in the middle of the night.
00:37:05So the thought of that never happening again is so encouraging.
00:37:10All right, we're going to make a pass so I'm about to engage.
00:37:13I'll walk you through it.
00:37:14Okay.
00:37:15When I pull this lever down, that drive belt right there is going to engage.
00:37:19Okay.
00:37:19Okay.
00:37:19The moment you show Ashley how to use a skill saw, a drill, how to frame a wall, she does
00:37:31it to perfection.
00:37:33Perfect.
00:37:34She's becoming a part of the solution and we're changing this homestead together.
00:37:45It's awesome.
00:37:46That felt like the first step to really being self-sustainable was taking resources from our
00:37:54property and turning them into something usable for a need that we have.
00:37:59So exciting.
00:38:00Thank you so much for coming.
00:38:02You're welcome.
00:38:04It's only getting colder this week.
00:38:07Now there's a full-blown blizzard on the way to the homestead.
00:38:10So for me, there is no plan B.
00:38:12This is all we have.
00:38:13Every single second is a make it or break it moment when it comes to this livestock and
00:38:18that is pretty alarming.
00:38:21I think the buck does not get the whole space.
00:38:24No.
00:38:25It'd be great to have a spot to have the mom and the babies together.
00:38:29Yeah.
00:38:29Separated from everybody else.
00:38:31Yes.
00:38:31I agree.
00:38:32Looks good.
00:38:40I'm moving in.
00:38:42Woo, woo, woo.
00:38:45Okay, boys.
00:38:46I still am going to stand by the fact that I don't want any of these quail to be on the
00:38:51ground, at least during the winter.
00:38:53See where this chicken is?
00:38:55Uh-huh.
00:38:56This area is going to be basically like a little birdcage where those quail will live.
00:39:03I think it could work pretty well.
00:39:04Yeah.
00:39:05Ha!
00:39:08Ha!
00:39:08When it comes to livestock, bigger is not always better.
00:39:13And so right now, the boys and I, we're building a coop within a coop.
00:39:17This right here will be our installation that we use.
00:39:2021 inches.
00:39:21Boys, not every type of livestock bird needs a big old coop.
00:39:26These are very small quail.
00:39:29And this is all the space we need.
00:39:31And if it's dry out here, it gets warmer, you know, you can give them more space.
00:39:36But right now, it's too cold and they need to be locked in there.
00:39:39They're going to be warm and they're going to survive.
00:39:41There we go.
00:39:42Looking good.
00:39:43Okay.
00:39:43Are you ready to wrangle?
00:39:45Yeah.
00:39:46We got 16 quail to catch.
00:39:53Okay.
00:39:55Moment of truth.
00:39:57Let's see how this spring's doing.
00:40:01Oh, my God.
00:40:0310 feet deep on this side.
00:40:05About 6 feet deep on this side.
00:40:06It's 20 feet long.
00:40:08It's 6 feet across.
00:40:10Yeah.
00:40:10Okay.
00:40:12That's a game changer.
00:40:14Or as we say on these homesteads, that's a life changer.
00:40:18I wasn't quite sure it was going to happen.
00:40:21Misty or Matt, you guys got a radio near?
00:40:24Go for Matt.
00:40:25Can you find Christopher, Ashley, the boys, and...
00:40:29All of you guys head down here.
00:40:31Okay.
00:40:32Copy.
00:40:32Me and Ashley are coming down now.
00:40:34This is kind of an emergency, so...
00:40:36Don't dilly-dally, okay?
00:40:38Okay.
00:40:39We're on our way.
00:40:41We're going down the driveway.
00:40:43No dilly-dally.
00:40:44I see my dad.
00:40:45All right.
00:40:45Come on over here, fam.
00:40:46Check it out.
00:40:49Oh, my gosh.
00:40:50I've already measured this.
00:40:55There's over 5,000 gallons of water.
00:40:575,000?
00:40:59Wow.
00:41:00I've never seen this reaction on the homestead.
00:41:02It's like laugh crying.
00:41:03Yeah.
00:41:06Wow.
00:41:07Everywhere we turn, God provides another miracle.
00:41:10Well, this is a miracle on a homestead without water.
00:41:13Yeah.
00:41:13How many years?
00:41:14Four years?
00:41:15Yeah.
00:41:15Four years.
00:41:16Water is life.
00:41:17It's life for us.
00:41:19It's life for our animals.
00:41:20It's the time saved that we're not having to haul this.
00:41:24It's the security of knowing if we're stuck here for two weeks in the snow or ice,
00:41:29that we're not going to be without water.
00:41:31I mean, Marty, this changes everything.
00:41:33What about you, young man, Malachi?
00:41:35It takes a lot of stress off my mom and dad, and I'm very happy to see this.
00:41:44I'm so happy.
00:41:45Let's leave.
00:41:46All right.
00:41:46Let's leave you guys.
00:41:47Okay, guys.
00:41:48This is 100% life-changing.
00:41:51This changes everything.
00:41:52Sometimes it's worth having years of hardship to really, really appreciate something that
00:41:59so many people take for granted, like water.
00:42:02This makes us sustainable.
00:42:04Yeah.
00:42:06This is so much bigger than we ever hoped for.
00:42:11I had no idea.
00:42:12He made me keep it a secret.
00:42:16You knew?
00:42:17You knew?
00:42:19It wasn't filled like this, though.
00:42:20It was just trickling in.
00:42:22Oh, my gosh.
00:42:23I could have never kept this a secret.
00:42:27This is amazing.
00:42:30The governor of Arkansas has declared a state of emergency.
00:42:34Word on the street that this is going to get worse.
00:42:36Everybody is just kind of scattering.
00:42:38It's really starting to come down.
00:42:40We're out of here.
00:42:41It is really, really cold this morning.
00:42:59It's day four on the rescue of the Currys' homestead, where freezing temperatures remain a concern.
00:43:07As you can see, it snowed some last night.
00:43:11The weather is not supposed to be good for the rest of the week, so we're just really praying that we can get through some of these projects.
00:43:17And this morning, Misty checks on the goats to see how they've fared in the cold snap.
00:43:24Thank goodness we were able to keep the baby goats warm enough with the heat lamps, but that's just a makeshift daytime solution.
00:43:31It's too cold today for the babies to be outside.
00:43:34The temperatures have dipped, so the baby's got to be moved inside.
00:43:38Okay, here we go.
00:43:40So now they're inside the house 24 hours a day, and we've got to get this barn done quick.
00:43:45So right now, I need a bunch of lumber.
00:43:49The mill's not running.
00:43:50That's not a good sign.
00:43:52No.
00:43:53Yesterday, it rained on us all day while we were milling.
00:43:56Oh, man.
00:43:57But I think a lot of the water that was on the equipment froze last night, and the whole machine has just froze up.
00:44:04The cable system's froze.
00:44:06Drip tank, water lines, everything's frozen.
00:44:10Well, that's not good.
00:44:12No.
00:44:12I think if we got a space heater and dropped a tarp over this and fired it up, or we could hold that heat inside of there, I think we could probably thaw these parts out.
00:44:23Okay.
00:44:24It's worth a try.
00:44:25Yep.
00:44:26I'll grab a space heater.
00:44:28You grab a tarp, and we'll be right back.
00:44:30Sounds good.
00:44:31Here we go.
00:44:31Thanks, Dave.
00:44:31I'm a little bit frustrated.
00:44:39Right now, the mill's not milling one board.
00:44:42So it's a rough start to the morning, but hopefully, we're going to thaw some things out and get back to work.
00:44:48Hopefully, it doesn't take too long to thaw out, and we'll check on you in a little bit.
00:44:51Okay.
00:44:52Okay?
00:44:52It's going to be a day, folks.
00:44:57It's going to be a day.
00:45:03All right.
00:45:04That's music to my ears.
00:45:06A spring producing so much water, you can hear it.
00:45:11Now, the next challenge is how do you get this water from here all the way up to that homestead?
00:45:18We've got some sun.
00:45:22You can just set it down there, big guy.
00:45:24That is a huge culvert.
00:45:26One system that we use on homesteads is a culvert.
00:45:31Three things are going to happen.
00:45:33We're going to take the culvert to the spring.
00:45:36We stick it down into the ground, and then we'll use gravel and fill around that culvert up to the water table,
00:45:45giving the water, giving the spring a place to travel, to move, and make its way inside the well casing.
00:45:53Watch out.
00:45:54Then dig a trench and put in a water line.
00:46:00Do me a favor.
00:46:01See if we can start rolling it down.
00:46:04Thank you, sir.
00:46:05Thank you, sir.
00:46:05Just this morning, I was thinking that this is not going to be possible, but it looks like we're actually going to have water straight to the house
00:46:16and not have to transport water ever again, is what we're hoping.
00:46:21The last couple of years, I felt powerless in a way because I would like to get my parents on this homestead.
00:46:29About six years ago now, my dad had a severe stroke.
00:46:33That provides a lot of challenges for my mother.
00:46:36She needs a lot of help right now.
00:46:38And it's been really important for Ashley and I to try to make this a place where they can move,
00:46:44and then we can provide help for them.
00:46:46And I wasn't exactly sure if we'd be able to accomplish our goal of having a multi-generational homestead
00:46:52because of the water situation.
00:46:55So right now, I feel a lot more positive on how the future is going to be on this homestead.
00:47:12All right.
00:47:13Woo-hoo.
00:47:13The mill's up and running right now.
00:47:17So the buck has his little zone, and then we really went all in on with this wall.
00:47:23Hopefully he can't bust through it.
00:47:24He has shown how strong he is.
00:47:27We got lots of work to do, and we're one step closer to keeping these babies warm and out of our house.
00:47:33In the world of stalls, ideally it would be this whole back row.
00:47:37So eight feet that way, I'm going to grab some two-by-fours.
00:47:42Now we are going to set up three kitting stalls, and I'm just praying that we're going to finish some stuff today.
00:47:47Okay.
00:47:48Okay.
00:47:52Woo-hoo.
00:48:04Hang on.
00:48:06We've got him listen to the forecast.
00:48:07We have winter weather alerts in effect for north Arkansas, and right now we're dealing with freezing rain and snow in downtown Little Rock.
00:48:15Arctic air is moving in from north and northwest.
00:48:19All right.
00:48:19I never thought in a million years it would be this cold.
00:48:29Halfway through the rescue, an imposing weather report forces the Rainies and Currys to game plan next steps.
00:48:36People are saying the words polar vortex.
00:48:40What does that even mean?
00:48:42I don't know.
00:48:43A polar vortex is a massive rotating band of winds that circles the poles.
00:48:51When Arctic air unexpectedly surges south into the States, it can bring dangerous conditions, not just for the unprepared, but also for weak wooden structures, which risk collapse under the strain of rapidly shifting elements.
00:49:10We haven't even talked about this house.
00:49:12Yes, it was built on pallets.
00:49:14We're not going to sit here and criticize it or be judgmental.
00:49:18But if this house was in town, they would condemn it.
00:49:24As this cold temperature has descended down upon Arkansas, I can see there's another problem on this homestead as life impacting as no water.
00:49:36The real problem right now in this homestead is unsafe shelter.
00:49:40In spite of an impending polar event, I want to put some type of solid foundation that is going to be safer than that building on pallets of footprint for a new cabin that could withstand any storm Arkansas wants to throw at it.
00:50:03Tonight, you probably could get by just fine.
00:50:05But how does this house fare during cold snaps?
00:50:10As long as we have firewood, we've never been cold.
00:50:12Do you have firewood?
00:50:14Yeah.
00:50:14We got to work on some today.
00:50:16Okay.
00:50:16Let's be honest about this.
00:50:17If there's a one-day, two-day, three-day storm, I'm just reminding everybody to, you know, let's take care of animals and each other.
00:50:27And for now, we'll get back to work.
00:50:28Our house is by no means safe in a storm.
00:50:35One wall is almost completely glass windows.
00:50:38The foundation is on pallets.
00:50:41And so literally when sirens have gone off, all I've been able to do is just sit on the bed in the middle of the night and pray that God protects us.
00:50:50And now that bad weather is coming in, everything is really overwhelming right now.
00:50:56There's just a lot to consider.
00:51:07Oh, my gosh.
00:51:10As temperatures continue to fall and the weather worsens.
00:51:15State of emergency.
00:51:17Let's go.
00:51:17It's D and Mac, get over here, please.
00:51:22Family.
00:51:24The rescue hits a crisis point.
00:51:27The governor of Arkansas has declared a state of emergency, mainly for the highways and transportation and moving people around.
00:51:36All of our team has to leave.
00:51:38That's protocol.
00:51:39So we don't really know what's going to happen.
00:51:41The word on the street, this is going to get worse and worse.
00:51:43We were praying for the best outcome for the weather.
00:51:47And the morning started really well.
00:51:49And now it seems to be coming down at the moment.
00:51:52So we got to think about the safety of everybody out here.
00:51:56I feel like we just try to get as much work as we possibly can until we got to get out of here because we don't want to be stranded here.
00:52:02Let's move these animals under proper shelter.
00:52:05Let's get them in the new barn so they don't freeze to death.
00:52:08Sound good?
00:52:09All right.
00:52:09I'm going to grab a heater.
00:52:10I'm grabbing some of those heaters for those babies.
00:52:12We're going to...
00:52:17Are you filming anything with the ghosts?
00:52:19Are you guys done?
00:52:20Are you out of here?
00:52:20I'm going to get people out.
00:52:21I'm going to fight.
00:52:22So, yeah.
00:52:26Everybody is just kind of scattering so our production crew doesn't get stranded.
00:52:31It's really starting to come down.
00:52:33We're going to focus on these animals, move them inside, and then set up these little electric heaters.
00:52:38Okay, we're moving the kids into the new barn.
00:52:46Almost 60 degrees inside the barn, so we did good.
00:52:50We moved all the kids inside with the mamas, but we got to go.
00:52:54It's like no time to waste.
00:52:56We're out of here.
00:53:08Good morning.
00:53:15This weather is definitely slowing us up.
00:53:19It's another cold one today.
00:53:21A little bit colder than the last day.
00:53:24The roads into our homestead are still pretty covered.
00:53:28I'm not exactly sure when the rain years are coming back.
00:53:31I can't really complain.
00:53:32A lot has happened.
00:53:33And we're going to see how the rest of the time goes, if we're actually going to be able to finish or what's happening.
00:53:53With a day's worth of work lost to the storm.
00:53:57Okay.
00:54:01Mid-afternoon temperatures warm just enough to resume work.
00:54:05But now, with 36 hours remaining in the rescue and critical projects yet to be completed.
00:54:12Have you given any thought to a place you might build your home on this 40-acre piece of land?
00:54:20We've got a few thoughts.
00:54:21Marty, Chris, and Ashley scramble to identify the location for a new, sturdier cabin.
00:54:29It's right over here.
00:54:31We've pointed out that their cabin doesn't have the best foundation.
00:54:36And that we would help them build a foundation that would be solid.
00:54:41It would be permanent to withstand the extreme weather.
00:54:44We're trying to stay conscious of how far the water and electricity were.
00:54:48On this homestead, we started out looking for water.
00:54:52And we didn't know that the weather would completely shut down on us.
00:54:57Do you have a tape on you?
00:54:59Okay.
00:55:00What would be wrong with...
00:55:06There's 16 right there.
00:55:08I've been on many a homestead where the cabin was 16 by 16.
00:55:13Or, what do you say, we try to push it to something like 16 by 40.
00:55:19Wow.
00:55:20This would open up a lot of possibilities.
00:55:22There's just something about this already existing area that's staring me in the face.
00:55:26To provide a head start on a future cabin, Marty plans to leave the Currys with a finished foundation.
00:55:35First, he'll grade a 16 by 40 foot footprint, making sure to stay close to the planned waterline.
00:55:42Next, he'll stack cinder blocks in all corners and load-bearing points, creating a solid framework for a future home the Currys can complete.
00:55:52We could use a septic.
00:55:55We still have the view.
00:55:57It's already flat.
00:55:58It's compacted.
00:56:00That's all good when you're talking about a foundation.
00:56:03However, I feel like we're going to let you down a little bit because of the weather setback and such.
00:56:08You haven't let us down.
00:56:09Well...
00:56:10Even if nothing happened from this moment forward, you have put us years ahead.
00:56:15We're going to get as much done as we possibly can.
00:56:17Last 36 hours, kind of put a real damper on our timeline.
00:56:23Our biggest concern is how long it's going to take for us to frame up the foundation itself.
00:56:27But we're ready to work, and I've got the faith that either way of where it's left, we're going to figure something out.
00:56:33This is your new foundation.
00:56:36We promised them a better future, but I'm not sure what we're going to leave them with.
00:56:42One more miracle.
00:56:43One more miracle.
00:56:47So check this out.
00:56:51Now that we've rescued all the bird livestock, we're going to help Misty out.
00:56:57We're going to help your mom out, and we are going to build a greenhouse.
00:57:02Excited.
00:57:03I want to be able to have our own produce and be able to live off the land, you know?
00:57:08Next step.
00:57:09I'm happy that we are going to have some food and be able to sustain ourselves that way.
00:57:14I've wanted a greenhouse since we got here and be able to grow food, make dinner for our family, and that's been one of our goals.
00:57:23So I think it'll be definitely really cool to have that here.
00:57:25Matt will take over Misty's build to construct his first-ever greenhouse.
00:57:31First, he'll measure a 10 by 12 footprint south-facing for optimal sun exposure.
00:57:38Next, he'll use milled cedar from the property for the posts and frame, before enclosing it with clear roofing and side panels to ensure sun warm.
00:57:47Finally, he'll add raised beds using donated topsoil and produce to provide food security for years to come.
00:57:57With the quail coop, we started from the roof down, but now that we're building the structure from scratch, we're starting from the ground up, and we're going to square it up right.
00:58:07I've been working alongside with Malachi and Balin, and it's been a lot of work.
00:58:12Start with you.
00:58:13Right there.
00:58:13I just, right there.
00:58:15Just pound one in.
00:58:18Perfect.
00:58:19But they're also vested into this lifestyle, and that's what this homestead needs.
00:58:24You got these young men that are getting close to becoming adults, and they have dreams, they have goals, and getting to know them really shows me just how much they care about this homestead.
00:58:36Okay, just kind of eyeball, put that stick right there.
00:58:40That's good.
00:58:41All right?
00:58:42Hammer, hammer, hammer.
00:58:43It's snowing outside, but I'm excited to get working with Mac on the greenhouse.
00:58:48The weather doesn't discourage me.
00:58:51Let's talk about getting some building materials right off of your property, all right?
00:58:56All right.
00:58:56Follow me.
00:58:59Where's the chainsaw?
00:59:06Okay, a couple inches of snow on the ground.
00:59:09Let's see how the babies are doing.
00:59:10Over in the new barn.
00:59:12Hi, guys.
00:59:15Misty checks on the goats to see how they weathered the storm in the new structure.
00:59:19Those little guys in the back are so pumped.
00:59:22They're just warm.
00:59:24They're alive.
00:59:25They're tucked in.
00:59:26We kind of built this pen within a pen.
00:59:29We got the heat lamp on the four-day-old kids, and we just went with what we had, but we weathered the storm.
00:59:34Everybody's fine, and now it's time once and for all to finish this build.
00:59:40Hello.
00:59:41Yo.
00:59:42Come on in.
00:59:44So a few things have changed in here.
00:59:48We created this little milking station that you can fold down.
00:59:53It's good to hear that Malachi and Balin have such an active role in the homestead with the livestock,
00:59:57and hearing things like milking these goats out in the rain, in the mud,
01:00:02they're managing livestock in less than ideal situations,
01:00:05and just changing that and setting them up so their day-to-day is that much easier is my ultimate goal here.
01:00:12What I like about it is you just grab your little stool, you milk your goat,
01:00:16and we got you a little present.
01:00:20That amazing simple pulse, two goats at a time, milker,
01:00:24that is going to take you to the next level.
01:00:26That's incredible.
01:00:28To have a dry, clean space and do two at a time, it's remarkable, Misty.
01:00:35Thank goodness we had gotten the barn finished enough to be able to bring the mamas and the babies in,
01:00:40and having a separate, safe, warm place for them to go,
01:00:45that is just a dream come true in itself.
01:00:48Only 12 hours remain to rescue the Curry family's 40-acre homestead.
01:01:12Quick, quick, quick!
01:01:13And while the crew installs the culvert to be used as a well casing,
01:01:18on the other side of the property, freshly cut cedar trees are being milled.
01:01:26Okay, you ready to pull?
01:01:28Lift it.
01:01:28Grab one of that thing.
01:01:29Lift.
01:01:30Which Matt and the kids were used to build the new greenhouse.
01:01:34So this is the difference between level and plum.
01:01:38Level has to do with anything that's horizontal.
01:01:41Plum has to do with vertical.
01:01:43So that right there, that would be plum.
01:01:47I'm a little nervous.
01:01:48We're kind of stepping on Misty's turf, building the greenhouse without her.
01:01:52But Misty's all in on the goat barn.
01:01:55But we're leaving this homestead at the end of the day,
01:01:58and we have to build the entire greenhouse.
01:02:01But we also need to get a viable source of water up and running.
01:02:05And so hopefully, we're going to do Misty's greenhouse justice.
01:02:11Okay, this one floats.
01:02:13So I'm going to hold it up.
01:02:14We should be able to get this greenhouse up and running for the warmer months.
01:02:24Being able to grow our own food, it's definitely a blessing.
01:02:30It'll be like, as soon as you walk in, all the walls will be surrounded by garden boxes.
01:02:35Nice.
01:02:37A greenhouse doesn't work without topsoil, and we're lucky to have this generous donation.
01:02:42Even in colder weather, topsoil can add nutrients to plants, prevent erosion, and add proper drainage.
01:02:51So what we're doing today will ensure a healthier garden down the road.
01:02:56This is going to work really well.
01:03:00Woo!
01:03:03Okay, the plot thickens.
01:03:05We've got a 600-foot water line all the way to the spring, buried.
01:03:12Of course, it's got five inches of snow on it, but where are we taking this water to?
01:03:18It doesn't feel right to run it straight to that building built on pallets.
01:03:24Good thing we have a plan.
01:03:28We're going to take a 1,000-gallon brand-new water tank.
01:03:33That's a real big tank, babe.
01:03:34Very big tank.
01:03:35That's a big tank.
01:03:36We'll keep digging the trench, closer to the house.
01:03:39Chris, other side will push.
01:03:41Ready?
01:03:42Easy now, precious cargo.
01:03:44Eventually, they'll hook that water line into the tank with potential to introduce that water into maybe a new cabin or house in the future.
01:03:53Okay.
01:03:54Not having to haul water and spend countless hours throughout the week and plan our life around having to leave the property, wait for it to fill up, come back, wonder if the roads are going to be safe.
01:04:06I mean, it's just life-changing.
01:04:07What's up, dude?
01:04:17Ooh.
01:04:17Oh!
01:04:18Okay, guys.
01:04:20Wow.
01:04:21Ooh.
01:04:21We got some plants.
01:04:23The craziest thing in the world is building a greenhouse during a winter storm, and that's exactly what we did.
01:04:32Let's get this broccoli.
01:04:34Here, bring that in.
01:04:35Right now, it's 10 degrees outside.
01:04:38Nothing's going to survive, but we have topsoil in our raised beds.
01:04:43I think a little demonstration about how we could plant stuff in the greenhouse is very important for when they do actually plant these plants in the future, which is going to be when it's warm enough.
01:04:55The thing I know about broccoli is it might look small right now, but it's going to get real big.
01:05:01So the spacing on this plant is crucial.
01:05:05We're pretty excited.
01:05:09Yeah, now that we have water, we'll actually be able to have a greenhouse, and it'll really change everything around here.
01:05:15We're going to have plants every 18 inches when we go here, when we go here, when we go here.
01:05:22The rainies have helped our family a lot with the homestead.
01:05:26I'm just very, very grateful that they've been able to come here and help us in all the ways that they have.
01:05:32It changed our lives for the better.
01:05:34It's up to you boys to plant these plants in here, okay?
01:05:37And I know you're going to do it.
01:05:40And so I say we move all these plants inside and then check the coops.
01:05:45All right.
01:05:46Let's go.
01:05:49I don't know about you, but these quails seem real happy.
01:05:52Definitely.
01:05:53We've given all the birds the best chance of survival from the cold, from the rain, from the snow.
01:05:58I'm glad we were able to do all your livestock birds justice and give them a really nice space.
01:06:05Seven days ago, the Currie homestead had nothing but a barren plot of land for a future garden
01:06:12and a decrepit quail coop exposing the animals to deadly weather conditions.
01:06:19Today, their quail coop has been rehabilitated with a brand new roof and upcycled nesting boxes,
01:06:26ensuring their birds will thrive in any weather.
01:06:30And they have a brand new 10-by-12-foot greenhouse built from milled cedar trees,
01:06:37enabling them to grow food for years to come.
01:06:41I'm so thankful that Matt came here and helped us.
01:06:46A lot of stress has been taking off our parents.
01:06:49Congratulations on happy and safe livestock.
01:06:52And hopefully this made your guys' livestock journey from here on a lot easier.
01:07:04This is a family affair right now.
01:07:07Later that day, by the new goat bar...
01:07:09How do we wrangle the buck?
01:07:12Misty enlists the Curries' help to wrangle and separate Freddy the buck from the rest of the does.
01:07:17My idea is to open up our electric fence over there and lead him through with food.
01:07:24Okay, we got the leash, we got the feed, we got the goat experts right here.
01:07:29I'll follow you guys. We're going this way?
01:07:31Yep.
01:07:31Here we go.
01:07:33You see him?
01:07:35Right now we're gathering all the goats, we're moving them in the barn,
01:07:39but they have to be separated so that buck has to move today.
01:07:43Come on, Freddy.
01:07:43And we have to put an end to this breeding program because clearly having kids in the dead of wintertime
01:07:50is not great.
01:07:52Keep coming.
01:07:52Shake your bucket.
01:07:53It's okay if any does follow because they'll be easier to get out.
01:07:56Shake it. Come on.
01:07:58Go.
01:07:59Go.
01:08:00Go.
01:08:00It's okay.
01:08:00It's okay.
01:08:01Just take him.
01:08:02Stop going for the girls.
01:08:03Turn it up.
01:08:07Freddy's a troublemaker.
01:08:08He's relentless, but this is just a little bit harder than I thought it'd be.
01:08:12Here, give him the feet. Give him the feet.
01:08:16The chaos of the buck stops here.
01:08:26Freddy's gotta go.
01:08:27Come on, buddy.
01:08:29Come on.
01:08:30Good job.
01:08:31Keep going, Baylin.
01:08:32Out front, bud.
01:08:33Out front.
01:08:33Come on.
01:08:34Yeah!
01:08:36Yahoo!
01:08:37Got it.
01:08:38Okay, guys, I've turned the fence on.
01:08:39Don't touch the wire.
01:08:40It's official.
01:08:44The buck is no longer with the does.
01:08:46You guys have a controlled breeding program just with the separation, and that's super exciting.
01:08:52So, yay!
01:08:52Good job, everybody!
01:08:54Yay!
01:08:54All right, should we go inside?
01:08:59Yeah.
01:09:00You had a lot of needs when it came to the goats, but I feel like we tackled it all with one structure.
01:09:07Yeah, we'll just be figuring out a space that's dry to put a big old bale of hay, and we'll be set.
01:09:12Yeah.
01:09:13This dream that we had, we felt like it was starting to crash and burn, but the Rainies made us realize how miracles happen whenever our family has really come together to work hard and see what this day can give us.
01:09:30Now, we've gotten so much accomplished, and we've opened up so many possibilities for us to thrive, and I'm just so thankful and excited to see what this next year holds for us.
01:09:43One week ago, the Currys had no way to properly separate the goats, causing excessive breeding and rampant loss of life during cold temperatures.
01:09:55Today, they have a brand-new goat barn built from cedar trees milled on the property, individual stalls to separate the buck from the does, electric heaters, and a new milking station, all enclosed within a new electric fence line,
01:10:11allowing the goats to thrive in the winter months.
01:10:14When it comes to buttoning up a few things or dialing this to your needs and how you farm and how you raise livestock, I'm going to leave you to it because I'm pretty impressed with how quickly you learn, and you're going to be fine.
01:10:27You got it.
01:10:28You're welcome.
01:10:34Look a little different over here.
01:10:36A whole lot different.
01:10:38Unfortunately, we're leaving.
01:10:40And even though this polar vortex did slow the work down, I will say this.
01:10:46We did our best.
01:10:48I think you're right.
01:10:49So right now, if you look down there.
01:10:53No, there's definitely water down there.
01:10:54Okay.
01:10:55So this is a 36-inch culvert, and this culvert will hold over 50 gallons per foot.
01:11:04So right now, this second, if you need 400 gallons of water, it's right there ready to be pumped.
01:11:12I mean, this is going to be, it's a life changer.
01:11:14Well, on that note, we've got to see if this water is actually going to work before I drive out of here.
01:11:20Follow me.
01:11:20Let's do it.
01:11:21Come on, come on.
01:11:23Let's turn it on.
01:11:24I can hear it.
01:11:25Really?
01:11:28Okay, there you go.
01:11:29Oh, yeah.
01:11:31Water is life.
01:11:34It is to these homesteaders.
01:11:35After hauling it for four years and 5,000 gallons a day should breathe new life into this homestead dream.
01:11:43Seven days ago, the Currys relied on rain and hauling water from town as their permanent sources of water, contained within unsanitary, algae-filled storage.
01:11:57Today, they have a developed spring, complete with a culvert well casing and enough water line to run into any structure on the property,
01:12:07giving them and all future family residents enough potable water for years to come.
01:12:14As you can see, you've got all the water in the world.
01:12:17For now, that's what you're looking at.
01:12:20Looks pretty good to me.
01:12:21Yeah, looks pretty good.
01:12:23The rainies coming out has really inspired me and made me think about family and homesteading differently.
01:12:30You know, the fear still comes up, but I feel motivated to face those fears.
01:12:35And soon here in the future, we are going to be growing as a family and as homesteaders.
01:12:40Did your wife say the number one issue here was water?
01:12:44No.
01:12:45Do you think we've maybe solved the problem?
01:12:48Mission accomplished.
01:12:49Okay.
01:12:49If that's true, I'll go shut it off and I'll meet you at the truck.
01:12:53Sounds good.
01:12:53We showed up here in Arkansas about a week ago, 35, 40 degrees.
01:12:59Perfect.
01:13:00But that ended.
01:13:01Temperatures of below zero nearly shut this homestead down.
01:13:05But we persevered.
01:13:07And I want to believe that we actually help these homesteaders when it comes to finding water and to growing food in the future.
01:13:15But I think we've failed them when it comes to shelter.
01:13:20It's not a good feeling.
01:13:23All right, fam.
01:13:23I'm standing on Miracle Mountain.
01:13:28And thank goodness, there's water about 600 feet that way.
01:13:33And I think all the water you're ever going to need.
01:13:36Right now, it's warm in the barn.
01:13:38And as far as the goats are concerned, food shelter water is there.
01:13:42And now, after this week, you're set up.
01:13:44I really underestimated Arkansas.
01:13:47It never really fazed you, though.
01:13:48You were just the whole time right there, ready to work, happy.
01:13:52The week was pretty fun, but intense.
01:13:57It was definitely very fun being able to build with Matt, being able to take care of the quail and build a greenhouse.
01:14:03I'm very excited about it, being able to grow my own food.
01:14:07It was a good week.
01:14:08The weather could have been better, but you have just made it easier for the future.
01:14:13So we really appreciate everything you've done for us.
01:14:16Well, thanks for working alongside of us.
01:14:18But I feel like we let you down a little bit.
01:14:23Weather would not allow us to do the things that we promised.
01:14:28There's a big pile of concrete block there to put in a foundation for a home.
01:14:32Sorry, it's not good enough for me.
01:14:35We are scheduled to go to another homestead.
01:14:40They're waiting on us right now.
01:14:42So we'll see what we can do, but no promises.
01:14:47Here's the cold, hard facts.
01:14:51It's over.
01:14:52We're leaving.
01:14:53Be safe, guys.
01:14:54Could we ever break away from the homestead schedule and get back here and finish what we said we were going to do?
01:15:04Guess what?
01:15:06We're working on Miracle Mountain.
01:15:15We are going to build a concrete block foundation.
01:15:19But how can we do that in one day?
01:15:22I have no idea.
01:15:22That's hot.
01:15:28Oh, my gosh.
01:15:31Can't dribble on this ground.
01:15:33Better make it.
01:15:35Hey!
01:15:37While I'm watching Balen play basketball on this muddy ground and shoot hoops at a broken basketball backboard,
01:15:45I'm wondering if there's anything we can do to help that young man.
01:15:50Family!
01:15:51After seeing how important basketball is to this family.
01:15:54We're building the basketball court.
01:15:57You're welcome.
01:15:58All right, right here!
01:15:59Let's go!
01:16:01Homesteading isn't just about hard work.
01:16:04We need mud.
01:16:05Shovel, shovel.
01:16:05Every once in a while, you've got to do something fun because embracing this lifestyle means nothing if homesteaders limit their dreams.
01:16:16Look at that thing of beauty.
01:16:18Now these boys and their love for basketball can fly on this homestead.
01:16:23Hope your family enjoys that.
01:16:26Hello, hello again.
01:16:42So, since the rainies have left, the weather's definitely been a lot better.
01:16:47We've definitely been busy.
01:16:48Overall, it's been really exciting.
01:16:50The well hasn't run out at all.
01:16:53It's just so much water.
01:16:54It's been really nice not having to haul water and plan our lives around that.
01:17:00The barn's been great.
01:17:02It's kept all the babies warm.
01:17:04She's about to have her babies for you.
01:17:07And we had another.
01:17:09I had triplets.
01:17:12And then we've also got exciting things with the greenhouse.
01:17:15Everything is perking up in there.
01:17:16So, we have so many plants that Chris built this beautiful herb box so we can transplant some of these herbs and have more room for the veggies.
01:17:30Homestead is the gift that keeps on giving.
01:17:33There's always something for you to do.
01:17:34And not knowing if the rainies are coming back, the anticipation is just killing me.
01:17:40Having a reliable foundation to eventually build a new house still is on my mind.
01:17:47We're hoping for the best.
01:17:48And right now, we have the energy, the confidence to keep going.
01:17:53Is that them?
01:18:17We're back.
01:18:24Welcome back.
01:18:25Long time no see.
01:18:27Yeah.
01:18:28A little bit better weather this time.
01:18:29Oh, my gosh.
01:18:30Oh, my goodness.
01:18:31Last time we were here, it was below zero.
01:18:33Yeah.
01:18:34Good to see you.
01:18:36How's it going, guys?
01:18:37Chris, how are you?
01:18:37Before we left, we lost valuable time to help these homesteaders with proper shelter.
01:18:44Now, we're back here again because we have unfinished business here.
01:18:49Let's just cut right to the chase.
01:18:51That's not enough block for a foundation.
01:18:54And so, we have the rest of the materials at the top of the hill.
01:18:57We only have one day, so we probably should get to work.
01:19:00Yeah.
01:19:01Let's go.
01:19:01Let's do it.
01:19:02I don't know how much in the course of just one day what can get accomplished, but no matter
01:19:11what gets done, it's going to be amazing and improve our lives, so we're going to get
01:19:16as much done as we can.
01:19:18All right, so here's what I'm thinking.
01:19:20We are going to build a concrete block foundation, but I want to take it to the next step.
01:19:27What's the next step after you put a foundation in?
01:19:31Putting something on that foundation?
01:19:34Yeah, but I mean, how can we do that in one day?
01:19:36I have no idea.
01:19:38That's how.
01:19:47Oh, my gosh.
01:19:48Oh, my gosh.
01:19:50Oh, my gosh.
01:19:53Oh, my gosh.
01:19:55These are friends of ours, and now they're friends of yours.
01:20:01He doesn't say it.
01:20:02Thank you so much.
01:20:05We just got a house.
01:20:06We just got a new house.
01:20:08It feels like a new beginning for the family.
01:20:10It's so hard to process.
01:20:15After meeting you guys and hearing how you built that home, we reached out to some friends
01:20:20of ours, and we said, hey, how would you guys feel about helping us not only give these guys
01:20:26a solid foundation, but taking it to the next step?
01:20:30Thank you for helping us have security now.
01:20:34We have an actual stable home.
01:20:37Well, it's better quality than housing standards.
01:20:40Is this thing going to sit on pallets?
01:20:42Ah, heavens no.
01:20:43No.
01:20:44When they told us you had a pallet house, I was like, oh, dear Jesus, we better get down there quick.
01:20:48Should we figure out where it goes?
01:20:52Get the thing off the trailer?
01:20:53Yeah.
01:20:54Okay.
01:20:56Coming down, coming down.
01:21:01That was amazing.
01:21:03This beautiful family, they're confident, they're hardworking, and they picked up where we left off.
01:21:10I think if there was ever a homesteading family that deserved it, it's these guys.
01:21:16Grab the saw, make sure we got gas and oil.
01:21:24One of the biggest challenges on this property is building the foundation on pallets.
01:21:29And, you know, we've struggled out here, and I was fearful to ask for help.
01:21:33But being vulnerable, it kind of does empty you out.
01:21:38Let's get the house going.
01:21:39With this new house, we can continue to survive, and we're one step closer for our multi-generational
01:21:45homestead.
01:21:46It's right in our grass.
01:21:49You made it!
01:21:51Let's put block on here and shim it.
01:21:54Do you need hope?
01:21:54Nah.
01:21:55I got it.
01:21:57The house means a lot to us.
01:21:59It's definitely life-changing that we have a good house that's not on pallets.
01:22:03I thought we were just going to be putting down some cinder blocks and building a foundation
01:22:09or something.
01:22:10So, it's definitely amazing, and I'm ready to get to work.
01:22:15Oh, wow.
01:22:16Guys, it's big.
01:22:21Welcome home.
01:22:22The way we built our original home, there was a deadline of when we would have to have
01:22:27something else, and I really hope after the boys saw this gift today, they never forget
01:22:35to dream big.
01:22:36Now, we can continue dreaming and can continue working hard to make this homestead work.
01:22:42We can't thank you guys enough.
01:22:43Well, I think you deserve it, and we love you guys.
01:22:46We love you guys, too.
01:22:47Group hug.
01:22:48Come on.
01:22:49Group hug.
01:22:49Yeah, group hug.
01:22:52These guys believe that things that have happened out here, for them, have been miracles, and
01:22:58I don't blame them.
01:22:59They didn't have hope for this homestead.
01:23:02You guys are always welcome.
01:23:03Love y'all.
01:23:04Thank you for having us.
01:23:05Thank you so much.
01:23:07Our mission was to get this family one step closer to fulfilling this homestead dream.
01:23:14Thanks again.
01:23:15I'd say together we made this all happen through hard.
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