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duriajax42
  • 2 days ago
Mike cleans out a Connecticut lake, then travels to Pennsylvania to a gourd farm to make artwork out of the gourds for Halloween time.....

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00:00My name's Mike Rowe. That's my job.
00:06I explore the country looking for people who aren't afraid to get dirty.
00:10We have seven goat hides in a tub filled with lime.
00:13Now it's like a cooking show.
00:14Hard-working men and women who earn an honest living.
00:17I'd like to hire you on, Mike. You're doing a good job.
00:19Put you in touch with my agent.
00:20Doing the kinds of jobs that make civilized life possible for the rest of us.
00:24Now get ready to get dirty.
00:30Coming up on Dirty Jobs.
00:31Our company basically sucks. You're mugsuckers.
00:33It's hard to say what exactly is at the bottom of this murky lake.
00:36We call this silt. You don't find clean silt around here.
00:40But I can tell you this much. It's not clean. It's not good.
00:43And it's their job to dredge it out.
00:45We work under the water. We go where the action is.
00:47We have big hoses, little hoses.
00:49It takes a giant sack and a huge hose.
00:51And no matter how good you are at it, you still suck.
00:54You care about every little branch.
00:55Oh sure. I guess you get to 1 o'clock right now.
01:00And later, a lot of people watch this show and say, that guy is out of his gourd.
01:04What is a gourd?
01:05It is in the cucumber family and it's a brute.
01:08Well, this time, I'll be getting into my gourd by making it.
01:11Right about there?
01:12Yeah, it looks pretty good.
01:13I'd like to hear a little more enthusiasm from you, Roger.
01:15Turning a gourd into a gift item is a great way to get good and messy.
01:19But, if you're doing enough.
01:20Sometimes you get a little bit more creative and make some masks.
01:23You can also mess with your head.
01:24By day, you're in here making whimsical figures.
01:28Yeah, cute things.
01:29But in your off hours, you're deeply in.
01:31You're twisted up.
01:48Good morning.
01:50I'd love to tell you exactly where I am and precisely what I'm going to be doing today.
01:53But, as usual, I'm not completely certain about either one of those things.
01:56I do know that we're in the great state of Connecticut in the middle of the woods somewhere.
02:00And we're going to be working with lakes and, of course, people wearing shirts that say aqua cleaner.
02:06Yes, sir.
02:06What's your name?
02:07Steve.
02:08Steve, nice to meet you.
02:09I'm Mike.
02:09This is your van?
02:10Yeah.
02:11Come over here and take a look at Steve's van.
02:13This is great.
02:13I think we're going to be working out of this today.
02:16As you can see, we basically walked into a kind of campsite.
02:19And there are a lot of guys like Steve who are wearing identical shirts, which leads
02:24me to believe they're functioning as some sort of team.
02:27What's this all about?
02:29This is our lake rescue vehicle.
02:31Lake rescue?
02:33All right.
02:35I'll come back to this.
02:37We're going to need to be rescued.
02:40Good morning, Mike.
02:41Permission to come aboard?
02:42Sure.
02:44Come on in.
02:44Mike.
02:45Jerry Davis.
02:46How are you, Mike?
02:47Garrett.
02:48How are we, G?
02:49Good morning.
02:50How are we?
02:50Aqua Gail.
02:52Jennifer.
02:53Okay.
02:54Can I sit down here for a second?
02:55Sure.
02:55What goes on here, man?
02:57Where am I?
02:58We are in the middle of the woods in Goshen, Connecticut.
03:04Why?
03:05Well, Jerry has established a business that is, crazy enough, removing weeds and muck from
03:13lakes.
03:14What's up with the weeds?
03:15Why do they have to be removed?
03:16Well, throughout this whole country, invasive species of weeds that came from other countries,
03:23by contamination from bottom of boats or whatever means, have been dropped into our lakes, pond
03:29streams, and have overtaken the complete lakes.
03:33We're talking about illegal immigration on a weed level, really.
03:38On a biological level.
03:39On a biological level, we're dealing with immigration issues here.
03:42You've got them from Japan.
03:43You've got them from China.
03:44You've got weeds from all kinds of different places.
03:46They come out of people's fish bowls.
03:47They throw them in the water, and ten years later, the lake has some crazy Japanese plant
03:52in it.
03:52But to the level that they're so aggressive, they kill the native plants, choke out the
03:58wildlife in the lake, and basically kill the lake.
04:00Well, this is a disturbing metaphor for any number of larger issues going on in the country right
04:05now.
04:06Absolutely.
04:06Absolutely.
04:07All right.
04:07So, I don't see a lake here, but I see extreme mobility.
04:11So, we're going to drive to the lake?
04:13Well, Mike, we're a traveling road show, and we go where the action is.
04:17So, we landed in Connecticut.
04:18We came with ten guys and three motorhomes.
04:22I mean, we work under the water.
04:24We go where the action is.
04:25So, we're bottom dwellers.
04:26So, we have scuba gear all over the place.
04:28We have big hoses, little hoses.
04:30We're in the hose business, too.
04:31How many hoses would you say you have working here now?
04:38That's a sticky question.
04:39Never enough.
04:40Our company basically sucks.
04:42Muck.
04:42Muck.
04:43You're muck suckers.
04:44Muck suckers.
04:45Bottom dwellers.
04:45Bottom dwelling suckers of muck.
04:47What is with the ambulance?
04:48It is probably the perfect vehicle for this operation.
04:52Well, I can't wait.
04:53I'd like to see it now, if that's cool.
04:54Sure.
04:55This is our organization system.
04:57This is the interior.
04:59Our changing room, our storage room for dry suits.
05:03Obviously.
05:04Obviously.
05:04Sure.
05:05Sure.
05:05With all the hosing going on, you needed a changing room.
05:08Oh, yeah.
05:08Prior to this ambulance, when you needed something, it was a freaking scavenger.
05:13Sure.
05:14Let me sum this up.
05:15You are both from New York.
05:17Sure.
05:18You travel around the country with your little caravan here.
05:22You go to where the lakes are.
05:25Yes.
05:25And you suck the weeds out.
05:26Where's the lake that we're actually working on?
05:28It's in Warren, Connecticut.
05:30It's called Lake Waramug.
05:32Waramug?
05:33Waramug.
05:33And the view there is absolutely stunning.
05:35And the property you're going to be working on is absolutely gorgeous.
05:39So we're off to rescue Lake Waramug.
05:43This lake sits on a picturesque, 95-acre state park, though the actual water that we'll be
05:49cleaning belongs to a private owner.
05:58All right, here we are.
06:00Don't know where we are.
06:01So what do we got here?
06:03We have a bag.
06:04We have an extremely large bag.
06:06This bag separates the water, filters it out, and lets it back into the ecosystem.
06:12How much does this bag weigh?
06:14This bag's going to weigh approximately 700, 800 pounds.
06:19All right, and when it's full?
06:21Forget it.
06:22It's going to have a...
06:23This bag's going to hold...
06:24This is tons.
06:24This is going to hold 150,000 gallons of water, approximately.
06:28You know what?
06:28I probably should make myself useful.
06:30Sure.
06:31This bag is made of a porous plastic.
06:33After it's pumped full from the lake, water will slowly flow out, while silt is retained
06:38inside.
06:39Everybody grab a ring.
06:41When rolled out, it's about 100 feet long.
06:43The key to putting this bag down has to do with levelness and pitch, so that when this
06:48water drains out of the bag every day, and it's going to drain out all day long and all
06:52night long, that we A, don't flood the house, and B, that we manage the water so that it
06:57goes in a nice, safe place.
06:58Don't miss.
06:59I hardly ever do it.
07:01Hardly.
07:02Pieces of steel rebar are secured to the bag to hold it in place.
07:06This is the filling hole.
07:08What we're going to do is we're going to shove our hoses in here, slide the hose in in that
07:12direction.
07:13Okay.
07:13So that the water's going to shoot towards the middle of the bag.
07:16Right, take a couple of guys.
07:18You're already...
07:18Hello.
07:18You.
07:20In order to get this to lock, this fitting has to be all the way in.
07:24Sometimes the first couple inches are always the toughest, you know?
07:27All right.
07:28Go ahead, smack that thing.
07:29Boss.
07:29Oh.
07:30There you go.
07:31Here we go.
07:31Okay, we're locked.
07:32Good flying.
07:37What you doing, Jennifer?
07:38Oh, I'm just lubing up your suit for you, so it's a little easier to zip when you get
07:42in the water.
07:42That's nice of you.
07:43Yeah.
07:44Appreciate it.
07:45What are you using to lube?
07:46I'm using Vaseline.
07:48It's important because you're going into a pretty nasty environment, even by your standards,
07:53I would guess, and the suit offers you a lot of protection above and beyond keeping
07:57you warm.
07:58It'll keep leeches off you and various other assorted lovely, you know, marine creatures.
08:03This is a dry suit, obviously.
08:04That is a dry suit.
08:05Can I keep this on?
08:06Absolutely.
08:07You jump in just like James Bond.
08:08You can go in, work for six hours, and leave and go to a party.
08:11People confuse me with James Bond all the time.
08:13You know, I figured as much.
08:14Look at you, dude.
08:15I just have to take you in for a sec.
08:18Nothing in your size?
08:20We didn't know.
08:22This is going to be nice and easy.
08:24Uh-huh.
08:24And it's going to keep you dry.
08:27He's in pretty good shape.
08:28It's the illusion of fitness.
08:30I assure you, I'm swelling up like a tick.
08:33Being on the road is rough, but that's for sure.
08:35Look at that, baby.
08:37Good tool needs a good shed.
08:38You're going to need to come in and out.
08:39Ready?
08:39Here you go.
08:40Look at this.
08:41It's like a star face.
08:41We get in and out of the water.
08:43Sure.
08:44It's very important.
08:47It goes in nice and easy.
08:49It's teamwork.
08:50It is teamwork.
08:50It's nice.
08:51Like Jerry said.
08:53Morning.
08:53How's it going?
08:54A little tight.
08:55Yeah?
08:56That's a real form fitter.
08:57I've never seen you from this angle before.
08:59How about this one?
09:01Yeah.
09:01Makes an impression.
09:03Coming up.
09:04Now you see the color?
09:05That's dark.
09:06Now you know you're pumping muck.
09:07Doug, why don't you take a deep breath, go down and see if you can shoot this.
09:10You can't shoot in murky, mucky water.
09:14But it can shoot you.
09:15It's really nice when it's coming at you 100 miles an hour.
09:18And later.
09:19Whatever you can envision, you can make out of these.
09:22I can envision quite a bit.
09:23In the right hands, a gourd can be turned into almost anything.
09:26You want to have a good dribble on it, or it's actually going to fly against the wall.
09:30Even a flying object.
09:33That's what happened.
09:47That's a little rocky, big rock, just like this.
09:49Right?
09:49I like walking in backwards, so this way if I'm going to fall, at least I go face forward.
09:53There you go.
09:54What do you mean?
09:55Why is it good to go face forward?
09:56Well, if you fall in the water face forward, you're never going to find yourself.
09:59You'll be sitting floating.
10:00These suits will keep you floating.
10:01Oh, yeah.
10:02This way you have some control.
10:03There we go.
10:03Right, right.
10:04Yeah, I got control.
10:04You look like the, what's that white fluffy, the fluffy guy?
10:08The Stay Puft Marshmallow guy.
10:09The Stay Puft Marshmallow guy.
10:09You look like the Stay Puft Marshmallow guy.
10:11All right.
10:12I'm going to see it like his evil twin brother.
10:14Here is our five-inch nozzle.
10:16All right.
10:16Looks an awful lot like a pitchfork.
10:18No, this is the pitchfork.
10:19Okay.
10:19This is the nozzle.
10:20Now, the reason we have the pitchfork attached to it is because we work on the bottom.
10:24Put the pitchfork on to give us an added three feet of control so we can stand where we are
10:28right now and still work the bottom.
10:30Great.
10:30Otherwise, we're putting the air gear on and we're going right on.
10:33Then you're going it.
10:33Okay.
10:34Now, let me give you a little idea of what's going on down here.
10:36Stick your hand down in the bottom.
10:38Pull up.
10:39See what you can grab.
10:40Oh, that's my foot.
10:41Well, we don't want that.
10:43All right.
10:44Now, that's what you typically find on the bottom of a lake or a pond around somebody's
10:49house.
10:49Okay.
10:49You don't have, we call this silt.
10:51You don't find clean silt around here.
10:53No such thing.
10:54Hence why we made the dirty dredger.
10:56Why is it bad to have this in the lake, though?
10:58I mean, why is this, you know?
11:00It's not.
11:00It's just accumulated over the years.
11:02Now, if you wanted to go in here and take a swim, you wouldn't want to step on this.
11:05No, I wouldn't.
11:05Exactly.
11:06So, what we're going to do is we're going to clear debris and then take the nozzle and put it
11:10in when you know you have relatively soft stuff.
11:12Okay.
11:13All right.
11:13Now, all we're going to do is grab the handle here and bring it down and feel the bottom
11:18and just bob it down and lift it up.
11:20Push it down and lift it up.
11:21Lift it up again so I can see what you're doing.
11:22Okay.
11:22You're just holding it.
11:23Holding here and holding here.
11:25Right.
11:25Sticking it into the bottom.
11:27Yes.
11:27And just pushing down.
11:28And don't leave it down there because you need to mix it with water.
11:31So, you push it down, one Mississippi, two Mississippi, lift it up.
11:35All right.
11:35So, you've got it.
11:37I mean, the water in this case acts as a kind of...
11:39Slurry.
11:40So, it helps it along.
11:41Exactly.
11:41We create a slurry on its own by just keeping the nozzle a little off the bottom.
11:46Ready to fire up the engines?
11:47Fire it up.
11:48All right, Brian.
11:48Let's fire them up.
11:49Watch right next to you.
11:53I'll hold the hose for you so you can get a good angle on it.
11:55All right.
11:56Up and down.
11:58And...
12:00There you go.
12:01And this is it.
12:02This is it.
12:03Stand in one spot and dig yourself a hole.
12:07I'll deep a hole.
12:08Until you hit the hard bottom.
12:10Until you hit the hard bottom.
12:11Or then your head goes underwater.
12:13Well, wait a minute.
12:14So, there's a hard bottom under the silt?
12:15There is a natural hard bottom under the silt.
12:18And our job is to recover it.
12:20Restore it.
12:21This part of the lake that we're cleaning has been sectioned off by a turbidity curtain,
12:25which is made from the same material as the bag we set up earlier.
12:29This curtain acts as a wall to keep the silt from the lake out while letting the water flow through.
12:34Now you see the color?
12:35What color is it?
12:36That's dark.
12:37Now you know you're pumping muck.
12:38Pumping muck.
12:39You're pumping muck.
12:40We can't see anything like that.
12:41Now look at it bubbling.
12:43Sulfur dioxide.
12:44Actually, that was me.
12:46So, what's going on down there?
12:48We're kicking stuff loose.
12:49Leaves and other organic debris.
12:52For a water ecosystem, this stuff is very disruptive.
12:56The client here had huge amounts of algae, green clumps on the top of the water.
13:01He wants the place to look nice, so we're going to dredge it out and take all that organic nutrients
13:06out of the water.
13:07And while I was chest deep pumping the muck, I realized we had a small problem.
13:11It's a very complicated shoot because the work is happening where we can't see it.
13:17And it's really loud.
13:18I'm going to be coming from over there.
13:21So, we got audio issues and we got visual issues.
13:24But aside from the audio and the visual, you know, the TV thing is solid.
13:28So, we thought we'd give it another try.
13:31Doug, why don't you take a deep breath and go down and see if you can shoot this?
13:34Okay.
13:45As you can see, the water is just too murky.
13:48There's nothing to see unless I lift this up.
13:53The real work's up there.
13:55That is.
13:56And now the guy gets the easy job.
13:58He just has to suck it off once.
13:59It's everybody else that has to play with it afterwards.
14:01Right.
14:02All right.
14:03So, his jobs go.
14:04I mean, how many real jobs are there?
14:06This is the suction harvesting position.
14:08Right.
14:09There's the bagging position on the barge.
14:11Right.
14:11And he's also the guy who maintains the engine speeds and keeps me all the pipes running.
14:17And so, since we couldn't show you what's happening at this end of the pump,
14:21thought I'd take you to the other end.
14:24Now, basically, this is going to go on, non-stop, all day.
14:28I'll show you how to put the bag on.
14:29Right down here here, you're going to feel two hooks.
14:31Pull it up.
14:32Over the top.
14:33Grab it.
14:35Over the top.
14:36Twist it.
14:38Pull this down.
14:39Lock your bag.
14:46Catch the top of your bag.
14:47Grab your two hooks.
14:48Get on the bag.
14:50Get on the bag on that side.
14:53Get on the bag.
14:54Bring it up.
14:55Bring it under.
14:56Yep.
14:57Give it a twist.
15:00Let me do it, Howie.
15:01I'll never learn if I don't do it.
15:03Okay.
15:03I'll never learn.
15:04I'll just go through the rest of my life.
15:05A dumbass that can't put a bag on.
15:07Come on.
15:09Come on.
15:09Twist.
15:10Twist it.
15:11Go up.
15:11Go under.
15:12Under.
15:21You have to go over the bottom there.
15:24All right.
15:25Let's do it again.
15:26There you go.
15:27Lock it down.
15:29There you go.
15:31There you go.
15:32You're ready for this.
15:33I'm ready for this.
15:34We're going to start scooping.
15:37This box that I'm submerged in was invented by Howard, and it's affectionately referred
15:41to by the rest of the guys as the coffin.
15:44The way it works is, once the muck gets sucked into the trough, the red onion bags will filter
15:50all of the solids.
15:51The rest of the dirty water and sediment will be pumped into the bag from this morning.
15:56You care about every little branch.
15:57Oh, sure.
15:58Every little tiny thing.
16:00Oh, sure.
16:00I guess you get the water part right now.
16:03These things are filling fast.
16:04It's really nice when it's coming at you 100 miles an hour.
16:07For a job this size, these guys will typically fill about 1,000 of these bags.
16:12Who did this one?
16:15Good job.
16:16I'll get you another one.
16:17Today, I think I did about eight.
16:25Howie, I can take a hint.
16:28Steve, why don't you get back in here?
16:30You quitting on me?
16:31No, I'm not quitting.
16:32It's a pleasure.
16:33I'm just leaving forever.
16:35Okay.
16:36Thanks, man.
16:37Good job.
16:38It's an education.
16:39Second.
16:41Why don't you take a bag for me?
16:43That's fine.
16:46So this is how it ends.
16:47This is how it ends, after day one.
16:50Your bag has maybe four and a half, five, four feet to go.
16:54Oh, yeah.
16:54We're just warming up.
16:55The first day is always testing it and making sure we can control the water and the bag is
16:59going to stay nice and do its job.
17:00All these years doing this, no one's ever given me a cigar at the end of the day.
17:03Really?
17:03I appreciate that.
17:04Oh, God.
17:05I appreciate you coming out here.
17:06No, no.
17:06And it's cool, too.
17:07You got the ambulance waiting, too.
17:08Maybe we can take a ride in that now.
17:09I would love to.
17:10Mind if I drive?
17:11No, absolutely not.
17:12I've never driven an ambulance before.
17:14Coming up.
17:15What in the heck is over there?
17:16Those are kind of like personal pastimes.
17:18What exactly goes on in your personal life, Carl?
17:21What lies behind the mask of a gourd maker, you don't want to know.
17:25By day, you're in here making whimsical figures.
17:29When you deal with cute so much throughout the day, the ugliness has to come out somewhere.
17:41That's a gourd right there.
17:43There's another one.
17:45They're everywhere, just lying on the ground.
17:47Do you know what a gourd is?
17:50I don't either.
17:51But check this out.
17:53This is also a gourd.
17:54It's been transformed into a bunny.
17:59This one's a penguin.
18:01Today, I've come to Carlisle, Pennsylvania to find out what a gourd is.
18:04How you go about the process of turning them into animals with designs on their bellies.
18:10And most importantly, why?
18:14You're Sean.
18:15Yes.
18:15I'm Mike.
18:16Hi. Nice to meet you, Mike.
18:18Nice to meet you.
18:20Meadowbrook?
18:20That is correct.
18:22Meadowbrook gourds in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
18:23These don't look like the gourds I just saw out there in the field, though.
18:26What's that?
18:27No.
18:27These have sat over the winter and they are now dried gourds.
18:30So these have a hard exterior shell that we now can work with.
18:34Mm-hmm.
18:35When you say work with, what exactly does that entail?
18:38Well, they need washed off.
18:40Well, they need washed off.
18:40As you can see right now, they're really dirty.
18:42Dirty gourds.
18:42Yep.
18:43Dirty, dirty gourds.
18:44After they're washed off, then it's up to whatever your imagination can make out of them that you can do
18:50to them.
18:50My imagination, as you may know, is fertile.
18:54Yes.
18:54What is a gourd?
18:57It is in the cucumber family.
18:59It is a fruit.
19:01Squash and pumpkins are very closely related to it as well.
19:05Can you eat it?
19:07They do in some countries when they are very young and fresh off the vine.
19:13At this stage, they are nowhere near edible.
19:16Whatever you can envision out of these, you can make out of these.
19:22I can envision quite a bit.
19:24Mm-hmm.
19:26That would be the washing area?
19:27That is the washroom.
19:29They're going to go into the big wash tank and they're going to get the outsides of them washed in
19:34a batch.
19:35How careful should I be with the gourds?
19:37You can bang these around at this point in time.
19:39If they break now, that means we didn't want to make them in the first place.
19:43Great.
19:55The bag's the easy part.
19:57Now we've got to do the rest by hand.
20:05It's basically like a little swimming pool with an agitator.
20:08Yup.
20:09Run by a series of belts and a motor.
20:12Yup.
20:12A whole bunch of high pressure washers.
20:18There you go.
20:19How long does it take them to go through their cycle?
20:23About an hour and a half to two hours.
20:25What's your guy doing over there?
20:27Roger is washing out the insides of gourds and that's who I'm going to hand you off to next.
20:37Almost forgot my bunny.
20:39Roger?
20:40Hey, how you doing, Mike?
20:41Good, how you doing?
20:42Doing good.
20:43Washing a few gourds.
20:44Yeah, you mind if I put my bunny up here?
20:46Let's go ahead and check him up there.
20:48You're a mess.
20:49A little bit.
20:50They get a little sloppy doing this.
20:51This is what they look like before they're cleaned out.
20:55You pull any of it out or just go right in with it?
20:57You don't need to pull any of it out.
20:58The water itself, you want to have a good grip on it or it's actually going to fly against the
21:03wall.
21:08That's what happened.
21:11A lot of pressure behind it.
21:12We have anywhere from 1,600 to 1,900 pounds of pressure.
21:19You've got to get your hand out of there fast.
21:21Oh, it hurts.
21:21Yeah, it does.
21:22This is going to be a scarecrow.
21:24You have the top, which is going to be dyed brown.
21:26Uh-huh.
21:27The bottom will be natural.
21:28And then around this scalloped cut, there's going to be straw coming out the sides.
21:32What did you do before this?
21:33I worked in warehouses and different things like that.
21:36Used to build fences and decks and a little bit of remodeling, but...
21:41So, I mean, this is kind of artistic.
21:42It is artistic.
21:43And I'm not artistic, so the things...
21:45You know, this room suits me just perfectly.
21:47I don't come up with the designs or anything like that.
21:50Not my cup of tea.
21:51I don't know how to break it to you.
21:52You're a borderline artist.
21:53You're doing the cut.
21:55You're involved.
21:57You're involved.
21:58I've seen better scalloped cuts, but...
22:01That don't look too bad.
22:07So, really, then it goes washing, cutting...
22:11I guess you sort, right?
22:12Because it looks like these are all basically the same size.
22:14Yeah, these are all what we call a four-inch cord.
22:17We have our sizing board right here.
22:20Basically, if it sits on there...
22:22Uh-huh.
22:23That would be a five-inch cord.
22:24That's a five-incher right there.
22:25Now, since that goes through and sits on the four, that's actually a four-inch cord.
22:30What are these going to be, by the way?
22:32This product here is actually going to be an angel or a snowman.
22:36It's for QVC.
22:38A couple...
22:39I'm laughing.
22:40Yeah, I know QVC.
22:41I know QVC.
22:44I know QVC.
22:46Welcome back, everybody.
22:48Our next item, thank you, Dave, is being brought to me right now.
22:51As you can see, it's a Santa Claus made out of a gourd.
22:56It's a good-looking Santa.
22:57You get a nice, tight shot here.
22:58You can see Santa's actually knotted off.
23:01Velma the witch is a great example of the kind of craftsmanship and attention to detail you can expect.
23:07As you can see, she's smiling.
23:11She's a happy witch.
23:12This in spite of the obvious leprosy that's invaded the bulk of her torso.
23:16And here we have a scarecrow head.
23:19Trademark corn jutting from underneath his hat.
23:22And he's smiling.
23:23It is difficult, nay impossible, to find an unhappy gourd here at Meadowbrook.
23:29We've seen Frosty many times.
23:31You know, the corn cob pipe.
23:32Button nose.
23:33A couple eyes made out of, well, in this case, two small slits.
23:36They didn't go with the coal.
23:37But the top hat is there.
23:38You can get the pair for $38.29, and you can also spread that out in nine convenient payments of
23:47$1.09.
23:49Say hello to Angela.
23:51Angela is an angel, and I think it's obvious at a glance there's no mistaking this little beauty or what
23:58she's all about.
23:58Just take a look at that face.
24:00She's $46.99.
24:03How do you say no to a heavenly host at this time of year?
24:11First thing we're going to do, some of these gourds might still have a little bit of skin on them.
24:18Didn't all come off of the tank over there.
24:20We have the grinding wheel here.
24:24So at what point, Roger, do you stop seeing it as a gourd and start seeing it as an angel?
24:29Pretty much right away, whenever it was designed.
24:31Okay.
24:32They picked up that gourd.
24:33Oh, I can make an angel.
24:34That's an angel.
24:35So, okay.
24:36The designer sees it first.
24:38A lot of times you will not see it.
24:40Yeah.
24:40I mean, a lot of people are going to look at this and they're not going to see an angel
24:43right away.
24:43Nope.
24:45Coming up, maybe she needs a friend.
24:47Well, what kind of friend would you like for it?
24:49Somebody that she can hang out with and make little rabbits with.
24:52A perfect match that begins in a patch.
24:54But instead of a bow and arrow, Cupid uses a jigsaw.
24:58Ah!
24:59Is it getting manlier yet?
25:00No.
25:01And he needs help with his aim.
25:03There you go.
25:03Pine tree with his root system intact.
25:14We started out with about 30 standard varieties of boards.
25:18And then through the years, we actually produced hybrids.
25:21We can actually cross breed a bottle and possibly that kettle board.
25:25Right.
25:25And make different shapes.
25:26We actually have the potential of growing about 150 different sizes and shapes right now.
25:31Now that gourd there is eventually going to be a bird house.
25:34That's the one we use the two inch hole and actually would punch it into the side.
25:38That flat spot is where the gourd was sitting out in the field.
25:42Like this.
25:43That's how it grew.
25:43Pretty much.
25:46Sometimes these necks really take a long time, of course.
25:49We get a lot of skin on them.
25:50Sure.
25:50And you just go back and forth.
25:52Now some people like extra skin on the...
25:55We actually don't try to leave the skin on there.
25:57We try to take it as much off as we can.
25:59I'm with you.
26:00Easier to clean.
26:01Tell me I got it right.
26:02Right about there?
26:03Yeah, it looks pretty good.
26:05I'd like to hear a little more enthusiasm from you, Roger.
26:07Oh, you're right there.
26:16Now, that's going to be a really large bird.
26:20Oh yeah.
26:21Yeah, the two inch bed.
26:22That's a big bird.
26:23Yeah.
26:24Big old bird.
26:25But big birds need homes too.
26:26You bet they do.
26:28That's a bird you can be proud of.
26:30As far as hole placement, it's perfect.
26:32Good.
26:37All right, this will be the drying room.
26:39It's very warm in here.
26:40It's called the drying room because after the gourds are washed,
26:43this is where they're brought to dry out.
26:45You're the smartest host in the land.
26:48Yeah.
26:49On my way to the cutting room.
26:50I'm pretty sure that's where they cut the gourds.
26:52Honestly, you're a genius.
26:53You should get a real job one day.
26:55So intelligent.
26:56Sure.
27:02This would be the cutting room.
27:10And you would be Carl?
27:12I would be Carl.
27:13Nice to meet you.
27:14How are you doing?
27:14I'm good.
27:15What are you making?
27:16This is a jack-o-lantern.
27:18Uh-huh.
27:19I'm just cutting some triangles out.
27:21Putting in the eyes.
27:23Yeah.
27:23It's got a bit of a cone head going there.
27:25Yeah.
27:26Yep.
27:26Kind of one of our different types of products.
27:29Uh-huh.
27:35All the eye patterns and the nose patterns were there already.
27:42What in the heck is over there?
27:44Oh.
27:46Well, sometimes you get a little bit more creative and make some masks.
27:50So that's what's over in this area.
27:53You did these too?
27:54Uh, yeah.
27:55Those are kind of like personal pastimes.
27:59What exactly goes on in your personal life, Carl?
28:01What is this?
28:02Um, just a creation out of my own mind, really.
28:06It's quite a mouth you put on.
28:07It doesn't really have a name or a purpose or anything like that.
28:10It's just a Halloween mask.
28:11Well, as you put it on, you'll notice how limited your vision is.
28:15So, by day, you're in here making whimsical figures, angels, maybe a jack-o-lantern.
28:22Yeah, cute things.
28:23But in your off hours, you're deeply...
28:25I make ugly things.
28:26You're twisted up.
28:27This is a...
28:28What was this?
28:29When you deal with cute so much throughout the day, the ugliness has to come out somewhere.
28:33But believe me, when I go home, I get myself as clean as can be, sit around with fine china,
28:38sipped around booing.
28:39I bet.
28:41If you put this on, this chin action might not work for you.
28:45Then again, it might.
28:47You see Eyes Wide Shut?
28:48Love that movie.
28:49Your head can't be bigger than mine.
28:51I'm afraid it is.
28:52What?
28:54There you go.
28:55How long have you been doing this?
28:57Ten years.
28:59And how did you get into it?
29:00Adding a paper.
29:01It said crafter needed.
29:03I have an art background.
29:05Crafter?
29:05Well, why not?
29:08You're not selling these anywhere?
29:10Just for fun.
29:11These are all just for fun.
29:13Well, I'm sorry.
29:14I've become hopelessly distracted by your sideline of work.
29:19But I love the fact that you can go from angels to the antichrist without missing a beat.
29:28As long as I'm here, maybe she needs a friend.
29:32Well, what kind of friend would you like for it?
29:34I don't know.
29:34Somebody that she can hang out with and be with and, you know, make little rabbits with.
29:39I'm just thinking something, you know, decidedly masculine.
29:42That's what your retail environment needs here.
29:45Yeah.
29:45You know, you need a dude, man.
29:47You need a...
29:47They don't sell all that well, you know.
29:49No, they will.
29:49People like to buy female things.
29:51Yeah, yeah.
29:53All right, so let's put a face on the thing that is absolutely, undeniably masculine.
30:04Rather than do something like crazy like a star, I'm going to go way out on a limb here and
30:09give it a belly button.
30:11Chest hair is going to be difficult.
30:12Have you ever put chest hair on a gourd before?
30:14No.
30:15Well, it's a big day for both of us.
30:17These kind of look like worms.
30:19Well, I'm working with the number two pencil.
30:22He could just cut his pupil out.
30:25Is it getting manlier yet?
30:26No.
30:29Wiry like a sailor.
30:31Right.
30:31But I want something even more definitive.
30:33What is the symbol?
30:35I could pattern it for you.
30:36Would you?
30:37You can cut it out.
30:38It's diagonal to the right, the arrow goes.
30:41Arrow's going up diagonal to the right, yeah.
30:42This is what teamwork, by the way.
30:47Ah, .
30:49Let me see it once.
30:50Make the whole thing bigger.
30:52The whole thing, right?
30:53Okay.
30:57It's very tricky business here.
31:01Yes.
31:02Okay.
31:03There you go.
31:04Pine tree with its root system intact.
31:06That says male.
31:08International male.
31:10You just rest easy, little missy.
31:11I'm some company in no time.
31:13Now you're going to go over to get it all dyed up.
31:16Coming up.
31:17We'll just play around with different shapes and sizes.
31:19It's gourd sex.
31:21You guys have gourd sex.
31:22That's what we call it here.
31:24Gourds don't have minds.
31:25It's a gorgy.
31:26Yeah.
31:27But if they did, they'd have only one thing on them.
31:29One male, if you do it right, can pollinate two females.
31:33That's a big night.
31:34When males get scarce out here, we'll go three and four to one.
31:37Whew.
31:37Whew.
31:51Hi.
31:52Hey, Mike.
31:53You are Amanda.
31:54I am.
31:55That's Barb.
31:56Hi, Barb.
31:57What exactly is that, Mike?
31:59Well, I'll tell you.
32:00It's a boy.
32:01Oh, clearly.
32:02That's right.
32:03Right.
32:03I went with the universal boy model.
32:05Good thinking.
32:06The squiggly lines.
32:07Hair?
32:08That's right.
32:08Nice.
32:09Chest hair.
32:10All one color then, huh?
32:11I don't know.
32:12I don't know.
32:13Well, there's lots to choose from.
32:14I mean, what do you think?
32:15You're the creator.
32:17Well, she's decidedly masculine.
32:20Clearly.
32:21Right.
32:21So, I mean, I'm bronze.
32:23I mean, somewhat weathered.
32:24Well, we have walnut.
32:26Yes, I'm a big fan of the walnut.
32:27You like walnut.
32:28I do.
32:28So, is it what?
32:30Just stain?
32:30It is a leather dye.
32:32It's alcohol based.
32:33And the nice thing about it is when you apply the dye, it doesn't leave brush strokes.
32:39How many different dyes do you have here?
32:41About ten.
32:42Mm-hmm.
32:42Mm-hmm.
32:44Nice.
32:45Well done.
32:48You want to make sure you get the edges of those cutouts, too.
32:52How long have you been here?
32:54Oh, I don't even know.
32:56Sean's my brother.
32:57Oh, is he?
32:58Yeah.
32:58Yeah.
32:59Yeah.
32:59I kind of fell into this in a very roundabout way.
33:03Is my work done here?
33:04Well, do you want to do some birdhouses?
33:06Yeah.
33:07I mean, why don't we just let him dry and you and I can continue.
33:09You got to take him far away.
33:11I'm just going to put him temporarily close to the bunny.
33:15Let him get used to each other.
33:19Okay.
33:20So your brother was doing this.
33:21Yeah.
33:21And I was looking just for some part-time work, you know, at that point.
33:24You weren't thinking.
33:25Get out of the house.
33:27I was not at all.
33:28No.
33:29It's a crooked road we all wander.
33:31It is.
33:31But you know what?
33:32It works.
33:32It's a fun crowd here.
33:35I think you got it.
33:36So we're, this is called maximize every millimeter?
33:39You got it.
33:40Don't let them touch.
33:41Well, I like what I'm seeing here.
33:42It's going to get redder after you spray them and dip them in poly.
33:48Got candy for you, Mike.
33:50Thanks, Amanda.
33:51Yep.
33:51How's it going?
33:52Everything's good.
33:53Just, you know, following instructions as best I can.
33:57All right.
33:58So we're, the process we're going to do here is what again?
34:00We're actually going to spray the gourds with polycrylic, which brings out their color.
34:05I'll keep, like, you see how this one's kind of dull?
34:09Yeah.
34:10We're going to bring the natural color of mahogany back out and make it shinier.
34:13Oh, so we're going to make them look like this, only dry.
34:16Yes.
34:17Got it.
34:21So what is that that's coming out of the spray?
34:23It's a polyacrylic.
34:25And obviously it doesn't matter if it's on your hands.
34:27No, it's water-based.
34:28It'll wipe right off.
34:29And you just spray it until it turns back into its color and let it dry.
34:33Very cool.
34:35And so that'll dry looking shiny.
34:38Yep.
34:39Are you ready?
34:42Yes, you are.
34:51Looks good.
34:53All right.
34:53That dries, it should be nice and shiny.
34:56All right, Mike.
34:57Here's where we're going to dip birdhouses.
35:00Now I'm going to show you how to do this, plug the holes quick.
35:03Mm-hmm.
35:03And do a couple on the top here.
35:05All you do is you want to grab it with one finger and just push it down here.
35:11We're dealing with a polyurethane.
35:14It's a clear coat.
35:15It's just like you'd put on a wood deck.
35:18A messy, messy job you got going here.
35:20I like it.
35:21Yeah.
35:23How long have you been doing this?
35:24Did I ask you that already?
35:25I've been here 13 years now.
35:26Oh, I didn't ask you.
35:2713 years?
35:28Yeah.
35:29At the farm.
35:29I started back when it was a produce farm.
35:31I've been dipping birdhouses for the past three.
35:35I swear.
35:36My favorite part of this job.
35:37I hear sentences I never knew could have otherwise existed.
35:41I've been dipping birdhouses for the last three years.
35:44You need to skip a...
35:45I do.
35:46I do.
35:46Cross pollen.
35:47Tell me more about the cross pollinating.
35:50We take different shapes and sizes of gourds and actually breed them together when we pollinate.
35:56We'll just play around with different shapes and sizes and try to get what we want until
36:01we find something and then we use those seeds.
36:04That sounds like some...
36:06It's gourd sex.
36:07You guys have gourd sex here?
36:09That's what we call it here.
36:10Gourd sex?
36:11Yes, gourd sex.
36:12You go out with a little Q-tip and you have gourd sex with different varieties of gourds.
36:16It's a gorgy.
36:17Yeah.
36:19Never heard it called that, but it's a new one.
36:21I'm sure we'll use it around here sometime.
36:22Yeah.
36:23I'm sure I won't get any credit for it either.
36:25All right.
36:25Now, with your guy, I would want to get as much poly in the inside of your guy as I
36:30could
36:30so that, uh...
36:32He's slick on the inside.
36:34He's smooth and you could sit him outside then.
36:36Right.
36:36I want this guy to be weatherproof.
36:38I want a man for all seasons.
36:40Well, then just put him in there and slosh him around.
36:44Hold your breath, pal.
36:45Well, you're going to be in here a while.
36:50Oh, bad guy.
36:52Little guy just foofed a little.
36:55Stop struggling.
36:57You're really making it worse.
36:59Mm-hmm.
37:00You're going to be the shiniest guy at the ball.
37:09How long will he take to dry?
37:11He'll take about two days to dry now.
37:13Oh, no.
37:14I need him for my big finishing clothes.
37:16Oh, he'll be dry to the touch in probably a half an hour.
37:21Coming up...
37:21We're going to cross-pollinate with the gourds right now?
37:25Yes.
37:25This is a love box.
37:27Yes.
37:28If you suffer from performance anxiety...
37:30The male and the female are only good for one night.
37:33No pressure or anything, guys.
37:34The gourd patch is no place to be.
37:36A successful night is about 600.
37:38You're pollinated.
37:40I'm but one man.
37:41I'm but flesh and bone.
37:55I've never been one to pass up a gorgie, so I hitched a ride into the fields with Ben Bear,
38:00who's the man in charge of petals, stamens, pistols, pollen, and numerous other horticultural terms.
38:13Love is in the air.
38:15Love is also in the box.
38:17But that's the extent of the information I know right now.
38:21Ben, you own this property.
38:24Yes.
38:24Used to run the operation over there, the whole gourd thing, right?
38:28Used to.
38:28Sold it, and now you're just what, like a gentleman farmer?
38:31I'm the gentleman part.
38:32I'm the farmer part, but I didn't sell it.
38:34It's run by our employees for themselves.
38:37I do the farming.
38:38I listen to them now.
38:40This is a love box.
38:44Yes.
38:45There's latex gloves, q-tips, and that's about it in there.
38:50We're going to cross-pollinate with the gourds right now?
38:54Yes.
38:55What are we looking for immediately?
38:56We need to find some male and female flowers.
38:59I'm going to follow you and pretend I know something.
39:01All right.
39:03Look, flowers.
39:04Careful on the vines.
39:05Careful with the vines.
39:06So I should not be stepping on the vines.
39:08Try not to.
39:09You realize they're everywhere.
39:11Pretty much everywhere.
39:13All right.
39:14The first thing, you need to know the difference between a male and a female.
39:18You know, all this time I thought I did.
39:21This is a male.
39:23This is a female.
39:25Now the difference, if you look at this side, the little gourd is always there on the female.
39:31And the male only has pollen cut.
39:33Okay.
39:33Female, male.
39:34The male and the female are only good for one night.
39:37So if we pollinate it tonight, it's good.
39:39If not, it's dead anyhow.
39:41I'm not sure I follow you.
39:43This blossom is only open tonight.
39:45It will either do its business tonight or it will be of no use.
39:49One show.
39:50One show.
39:51One night.
39:51All the blossoms you see here opened up in the last hour.
39:56And they will be dead tomorrow morning about 9 o'clock.
39:59There's no pressure or anything, guys.
40:01We have to get the field done tonight.
40:04Otherwise, this is for nothing.
40:05The whole field?
40:06The whole field.
40:06Oh, come on.
40:07Yeah.
40:08All right.
40:08Well, let's hurry up and start.
40:09Let's get started.
40:10Take your Q-tip and you're digging down in here for the pollen.
40:15This was the male, right?
40:16You can actually see it on your Q-tip.
40:18Do you see the yellowing?
40:19I see it.
40:20Very faint.
40:20Like earwax, right.
40:21Yeah.
40:22What you're doing is you're...
40:25We teach to roll it and then go around the top because we really don't know how to pollinate
40:31that.
40:31So we double do it.
40:33You cover all your bases.
40:34Cover all our bases.
40:35All right.
40:36We're done.
40:37That's pollinated?
40:38That's pollinated.
40:38Now, what do you do with it?
40:39That one's dead because we picked it.
40:41Otherwise, we leave it here.
40:43Oh, so this happens while they're attached.
40:45Of course.
40:45I mean, she's okay.
40:48But it's hard to show you with two different plants.
40:50Right.
40:50All right.
40:51This is turning into a very dark story.
40:54Hey, good news.
40:55I have no idea.
40:55You're with Gord.
40:56And your dad.
40:59Sad.
41:00All right.
41:01Take a deep.
41:02Oh, yeah.
41:03I think I've got some.
41:04I've got everything on here.
41:05Good grief.
41:06Now, you have to find the female.
41:08There's one.
41:09Yep.
41:10I know females.
41:11Now, the interesting thing is that one male can pollinate two females.
41:15That's a big night.
41:17Once upon a time, Ben, you know.
41:19And when males get scarce out here, we'll go three and four to one.
41:24Okay.
41:24Circle in the middle and then rub it over the top.
41:27And that's done.
41:29A successful night is about 600.
41:32Pollinated.
41:33You have one done.
41:34I'm but one man.
41:35I'm but flesh and bone.
41:37How does it happen naturally?
41:39Moths.
41:40There's a moth, a hawk moth about, they're about that wide.
41:43Mm-hmm.
41:44And they'll come out.
41:45In about half an hour, we'll start to see them.
41:47They'll look like a hummingbird.
41:50They'll hover about four inches from the flower.
41:53And believe it or not, they hang out this proboscis.
41:55Who knows?
41:56That hangs out about four inches.
41:57And they just go around the male.
41:59And they go around the female.
42:00And they just, they're quick.
42:03Impressive.
42:04She probably had no idea this was gonna be happening tonight.
42:08Thanks, man.
42:11Well, that's my day in the gourd patch.
42:13The sun is setting.
42:14And as I look around, I see confusion.
42:17I see a lot of boys and just a few girls.
42:21And that's gonna make things a little hectic in about a half hour.
42:24There's gonna be a whole lot of love going on out here.
42:29This much is for certain, though.
42:32Mm-hmm.
42:33Big night for her.
42:35Because my boy's in the house.
42:37They got work to do.
42:39And it's gonna be gorgeous.
42:44So here's the thing.
42:46I know there are a lot of dirty jobs out there.
42:48Lately, I've just come to the realization that I have to dig a little bit harder to find them.
42:53Which is a nice way of saying, I need your help.
42:57So if you can think of a new, creative, fun way for me to get dirty in a new and
43:04exciting dimension.
43:06Discovery.com forward slash dirty job.
43:08Soon as you can, I'd be grateful.
43:11Hey, now.
43:14Doug's been setting up his camera now for some time.
43:16You can see it hanging up there.
43:18He's breaking things now.
43:19It's a little awkward.
43:20If I were you, I'd be careful with that.
43:22I saw somebody sucked in there one day, and it was horrifying.
43:25Mom?
43:27Yeah, it's Mike.
43:29Good, thanks.
43:29How are you?
43:31Well, you know how it is.
43:32Some days are better than others.
43:34Anyhow, I was just calling to say I love you.
43:37Right.
43:38Bye.
43:40They sound great in here.
43:41Yeah.
43:42Good acoustics.
43:43Take or we, you might get to this?