[dramatic music playing]
[cow mooing]
[Eivin speaking]
[siren blaring]
I don't know if he has got a broken back.
If his rib cage is crushed. If he is bleeding out somewhere.
And this is probably one of the worst blizzards we have seen in years.
That's rushing my dad to the hospital.
It's terrifying.
[dramatic music playing]
[Eivin] You know, we got to the hospital.
They said my dad punctured both of his lungs
He's broken, like, 16 or more ribs,
some of them also the closes to, like, some major arterie and stuff like that.
It's pretty scary. I feel like right now.
[machines beeping]
[Otto speaking]
[Elvin] I can't really belie I am here right now.
Today started out like any other day.
And then I got a text from a friend of my dad's that he was working when,
and it just says, "911. Otto is hurt. Call me back immediately."
And I did. I called him back immediately
and he is like, "Your dad is hurt. He got trampled by a cow."
We called an ambulance.
And I was like, okay, I am on the way.
[dramatic music playing]
[Eivin] My friend, Brian, jumped in the truck with me
We threw my four-wheeler in the back of the truck
because where we were going was four wheeler access only.
[engine spluttering]
[Eivin] No vehicle could get to him. No ambulance could get to him.
Another thing I knew for certain was there is no way
we could get a helicopter out there.
I've worked in the emergency field enough to know when helicopters can fly,
and when you can use them as resource, and I know when you absolutely cannot.
So, all I am really thinkin of is how are we gonna get him out of here,
and is he gonna survive long enough to get him to the hospital.
When I finally got to my dad
I knew this was a life-threatening injury.
[machines beeping]
[Eivin] Where my dad got injured was basically as far away
on the road system as you can possibly get from a hospital in Alaska.
And so, it was probably like an hour and a half after it happened,
before an ambulance or paramedics could get there.
[siren wailing]
[Eivin] When the paramedics did arrive, my dad was way too injured
to be able to be taken out by any ATV or anything.
With their help, we literally had to carry hi for over a 100 years,
on an extremely steep, slippery slope,
-and wide-out snow condition -[man] Here we go.
[indistinct chatter]
[Eivin] It took us a good hour to a hour and a half to get him out of there
to the pick-up truck so that we could load him into the back of.
[man 1 speaking]
[man 2 speaking]
[Eivin] We had to load my dad in the back of the pick-up truck
because an ambulance can't get up the road
as it's too slippery to drive it up the steep road without chains.
There's chains on the truck
Once we got him in the truck it was a good 20 minute driv in white-out conditions
before we actually got him in the ambulance.
[indistinct chatter]
[door closes]
[slow music playing]
-[Eivin] He's too critical. Just too critical. -[August] Too critical. Yeah.
And, you know, I think that's what they are saying. They're just...
You know they don't have a... They don't have a cardiothoracic surgeon
here in Homer.
And they just want to get him to, like, a trauma center in Anchorage.
[August] At this point, we don't kno if dad is going to make it.
Quite frankly, he's had injuries before, but nothing this severe.
I don't even know how to process what I am feeling right now.
I am scared. I am sad. I am angry.
I am... [sighs]
[pensive music playing]
I don't know.
-[sighs wearily] -That's so screwed-up.
-So... -So screwed up.
[August] At this point now, I feel like it's just a waiting game.
It's not that long till first light at this point.
-And hopefully the helicopter shows up soon. -Yeah.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Eivin] We see our parents is just like a beacon of strength in our lives,
you know. This, this, this kind of person
that's always stronger and always there and stuff, and...
Seeing your dad so laid-up and devastated
really makes you realize, kind of, their fragility, and um...
It's, um, it's a scary thing.
[wind howling]
[man] You okay down there?
[indistinct chatter]
[helicopter hovering]
[Eivin] I know that right no it's gonna be kind of saying goodbye,
for I don't even know how long.
There's definitely this feeling, you know, wondering whether or not
I'm ever gonna see him alive again,
which by in itself is a little bit of a scary concept
because we can't go see him in the Anchorage hospital because of COVID,
and um, so it's just, you know, kind of saying goodbye,
saying your prayers and hoping for the best.
[helicopter hovering]
[pensive music playing]
-[Charlotte] Hey, hun. Oh, nice you got the wood in. -[August] Hey.
Yeah, a little bit more.
[Charlotte] I really haven' heard a lot on how he is doi right now.
I am just, kind of freaked out, trying to stay busy.
We made it back from the Homer hospital a few hours ago.
And, I tracked down a nurse,
who told me that Otto made it to Anchorage,
and he is prepped for surgery, but we haven't heard anything since.
[knock on door]
-Come in. -Oh.
-[Eivin] Hey. -Oh, hey, Eivin.
I am absolutely terrified and worried sick about what's going on.
And outside of knowing that he has been crushed by a cow,
I don't even know what happened.
What an ordeal.
That was so crazy, getting that text,
It was just, um, uh, I heard that Otto's been hurt.
-And they're going to the hospital. -[Eivin] Mm-hmm.
And so to me, like, what does that even mean,
like, oh, he is getting a couple of stitches.
Well, yeah that's when I called you.
-And then, yeah, and then-- -[Eivin] 'Cause Chris had gotten a hold of me,
and he was like, he told me, Otto is hurt,
you know, bottom of the switch backs, and I was like, holy crap.
My dad had been trying to get Chris Rainwater's cows out of the head of the bay
for, you know, about a month.
And this was the last day.
[man] How long you've been on this project?
I think today might be the thirty-first day
at the end-- of the 31 day project.
[Eivin] I can't believe this, like, is how it kind of ended.
It sounds like this was the last push of getting those cows up.
He has been going after it for, like, a month now.
You know, none of them were dad's cows. They were all Chris Rainwater's cows.
A lot of them were born at the head of the bay,
and so they-- Probably some of these cows have never interacted
-with people before. -[Charlotte] Yeah.
I know that when I went up there, like some of those cows were so crazy,
-and they were like, most difficult cows. -Yeah.
[Eivin] They are all very wild cows. They are not very tame.
And my dad just got downhill to the main cow.
You know this cow that had just really had a vendetta out,
basically just came at him, rammed him in the chest with its head,
knocked my dad backwards, he slipped, fell on a big alder stump.
The cow came out on a second time and rammed him again.
And then the cow slipped, and rolled over the top of my dad with a stump
underneath of them. And that just absolutely just shattered his rib cage.
And that's when I called you to find out if you knew,
and you were like thinking about going to the hospital.
And I was like no. We just--- We gotta go out there.
-Mm-hmm. -[Eivin] Because at that point
I was still thinking like are we gonna have time to say goodbye?
[August] Yeah.
[pensive music playing]
[Eivin] When I saw my dad laying on the ground, I was basically just like..
I didn't know if I was gonn get to see him again,
you know. I just wanted to tell him that I loved him, you know,
and I bent down and I kissed him on the cheek
and I said, Dad, you're good. You are good.
And you-- I love you, you know.
You're loved and you have done good.
You're a good person.
[pensive music playing]
[August] Well...
I think we should probably get our minds off of it.
In the meantime, there are still a lot of things that we have to do.
[Charlotte] I think the last thing that any of u want to do right now,
is go out and work the homestead,
when we don't even know what's going on with Otto's surgery.
But we can't be at the hospital because of COVID right now,
and we have living animals here that need us too.
Cows don't stop eating food, no matter what,
and we've got pregnant mommas that are about to give birth.
-We had the roof blow off of that birthing shed. -Right.
And then, um, we were planning on putting the roof back on,
and then Otto got so busy with those crazy cows.
Yeah, well there is that... [sighs]
...stable thing that Brian and I built a couple of years ago.
It's just like on metal skids. So it drags around pretty easily.
I could probably drag it over here.
That'd be amazing. Yeah.
[August] It's been a very cold winter. Lots of snow.
And not only that but high winds. It's been pretty stormy.
-And so that actually blew... -[thunder rumbles]
...the top of where we usual have calves,
in our, uh, skin shed, blew the roof just straight off of it.
And so that is no longer a good shelter for us to have calves.
And we definitely don't want any of dad's cows to die.
That would just, at this point, be tragedy upon tragedy.
[machine whirring]
These long forks are frozen in, Charlotte.
-[Charlotte] Oh. -So, I am gonna try to heat them up for a while.
Hopefully, we can pop it out.
First thing we have to do before I bring the shed ove is clear the road.
I kind of forgot that dad's been gone for almost a month.
And without him here, there's so many things that are frozen to the groun
Equipment, and shed parts, and so that's making it hard to deal with.
This is in the way of progress as I like to say.
-And it's frozen. -We need to move the barn in here.
And that's our progress today. It's totally frozen.
So, we are gonna heat it up.
There's a ton of tasks that need to be done to kee this homestead running.
And trying to figure out how to move forward
is really, really overwhelming.
But since my dad isn't here to do it, I need to help out August can help out.
And we can, kind of, help to take care of this homestead.
Gonna let this thing do its thing here for a little while.
At this point, I really don't know
what my dad's current condition is until they upda us.
They're not that good about updating us about his situation.
-Yeah, now it'll move the tin. -[August] Mm-hmm.
[Eivin] I feel like Charlotte keeps trying to call,
which is very worrisome, you know,
to not be, uh, to not be in kind of any contact with somebody
um, that knows what's going on like, you know, on a, on a minute by minute basis.
Hang on. Stop. Stop!
There you go.
Oh, yeah. I can do that.
I have so many ladies here just ready to have their calves.
[August] There's been-- A couple of years past wher there's been a calf a day
for, like, a week or so at a time.
-[Otto] Breathe. -[cow moos]
[August] It is hectic.
-[Otto] Okay. -[cow moos]
[August] And if you are not prepared for it, you are behind,
especially with my dad not here to help.
There's no heartbeat.
[August] There's a lot that could go wrong.
[panting] I don't think so, honey. I don't think so.
That's a happy birthday.
Really we're just praying that they don't.
[heavy machine whirring]
-We got it. -Nice.
[Charlotte] Just anybody going into surgery is scary
when they are a loved one, and you just worry about the outcome,
worry that they'll be okay.
The boys are... are rallying.
They're trying to help as much as humanly possible
[wheels squeaking]
[sniffles]
[exhales]
I'm sorry. This is just... This is a lot right now.
Otto and I have been married for 30 years
and I just can't imagine life without him.
I miss him.
It's like he's a million miles away
and he's broken into pieces
and I can't be by his side
and I just miss him.
[sighing] All right, we got that unstuck.
[Eve] It's kind of a dreary day out
and Eivin is over... working on... [clicks tongue]
[sighs wearily] He's trying to get everything dialed in
for Charlotte.
I think everyone's been having a really hard time
because there hasn't been any word from the hospital
on Otto's condition.
That is ready to be brought over now.
I'm trying not to think about it too much
'cause it's really overwhelming.
So I'm just focusing on fixing food
and making sure everyone has something to eat,
so we can all feel a little better.
-[Eve] I made enchiladas for you guys. -Gosh, thank you. I gotta--
Non... non-spicy, so they just need to be baked.
Thank you, Eve.
I'm trying to catch the snowflake.
-Are you? Did you help make this, you guys? -[Eve] They did.
It's been hard and, um, but, like, so beautiful
and illuminating to, like, how we need to appreciate each other.
-...so much. -Yeah.
[Eve] And with Otto, as muc as I curse him sometimes...
[chuckling] ...'cause he ca make things difficult,
in the end, he's just so incredible of a human.
-[Charlotte] Hey. guys. -Look at that.
[Eve] And grandfather and father.
-[Otto laughs] -Good job.
Yee-haw!
We love him dearly and we're not ready to say goodbye.
Let's go say, "Hi," to Daddy.
Eve is just... and the kids... they're just adorable,
like, making us some beautiful meals.
[indistinct chatter]
And, uh, anyway, it's...
It's just amazing to have the family's help right now.
[Eve] You getting ready to bring the shed over?
[Eivin] Yeah, I... I wanted to get some dirt
to put there, but I couldn't get up the hill with it, so I didn't.
-[dog barks distantly] -[Eve] I'm sure they'll be fine.
I'm gonna go get this thing and drag it in.
[August] I'm gonna head out and help Eivin finish pulling the shed.
Would you check on Simi and Twisted...
-with their, uh... -Yeah.
...pregnancies?
I'll make to check up on those...
-on those ladies. -[Charlotte] Okay, thanks.
-[cell phone ringing] -Oh.
Unknown number.
Hello?
Yeah, this is August.
Okay.
[Charlotte] When August said it was the hospital calling,
I literally felt my heart jump out of my chest.
Please be good news. I'm begging.
Please be good news.
[August] We've been waiting to hear from the hospital
for about five or six hours now, just to know
if Dad is going to... even make it
through the surgery and, quite frankly, it's been agony.
Uh...
Oh, he is?
[exhales] All right.
Thank you so much. Thank you so much for letting us know.
I know that you've got a lot on your plate,
but, um, thank you so much for the call.
Um, have a good day. Bye.
-What did they say? -Uh...
Surgery is done. He is out of the woods.
Okay.
But recovery is gonna have to probably be a lot of time.
And to start thinking about ways that we can
set him up here as best as we can.
-But right now he's out of the surgery? Okay. -But he's out. He's out.
-He's out. -Okay, at least, there is that.
Yeah.
[Charlotte] What a huge sigh of relief.
He's obviously gonna have to spend
a few more days in the hospital,
but now, at least, we can breathe easier
knowing that he's gonna be okay.
We're gonna get him back.
And that's such good news.
[August] Thanks for getting this shed up and out of the hill.
You've gotta get it out of your place?
[Eivin] I don't need it since I built my barn
I don't need this shed
-over at my house. It's not... -Yeah.
-I'm not using it for anything. -Yeah.
All right.
[Eivin] I'm so glad my dad made it out of surgery.
We've had a lot of accident on the homestead before,
but I feel like this is definitely the worst.
I was trying not to, but there was definitely
that kind of voice in the back of my head,
looking at everything that needs to be done on the homestead, saying,
"What's it gonna be like if he's not around."
[August] Skids are nice, especially when your world
is dominated by snow.
Why not just take your outbuilding out for a ski?
Convenience at its finest.
So much bigger than I thought.
Whoo-hoo! [chuckles]
-I cannot tell you how happy that makes me... -Yeah.
...because I've got a couple of cows down there
that are close to having babies
and I was just like, "Ah, we have no roof over their head."
-Eivin, thank you. -Yeah, you're welcome.
-That is so exciting. -You're welcome.
Oh, that makes my day.
That's gonna save some calf lives.
[cow lowing]
[Atz Lee] A white patch.
Wow, look at that.
Spread out, man
[Atz Lee] When we heard about Otto's injury
and that he had to get airlifted to Anchorage
obviously it was a serious situation.
and as much as my dad was affected
by his only brother having such a bad accident...
same time there's work to done on the homestead
and you just gotta keep pushing on.
-We got the football field cleared. -Mmm-hmm.
-Wow. -Ready for the summer season.
-I mean, these hummocks were... -...massive.
[Atz] Anyone that's been raised around cows or horse
knows that there can be serious accidents
but when you get older, it gets more serious, so...
for Otto to be on hard ground, hard ice
up against an alder, rolled over, uh...
and being a little older and more fragile
and bones are little more brittle...
It's serious stuff and, uh, everybody
faces aging. Everybody faces death and... and things change.
It makes you get serious abo
what you're doing with your life
and... and where it's headed
[exhales]
This is the place Atz Lee said I could build.
It's, uh, out of view of...
-you guys' house. -Mmm-hmm.
You get a little shot of the bear-hunting mountains.
[Atz Lee] Even before Otto's accident,
we had planned to build a retirement cabin for my da
[Atz] They're all off the ground, they're all straight
and they're all manageable size. It's pretty exciting, Lee.
[Atz Lee] You know, my dad is pushing 74, I think, this year
and he loves building cabins
He's been non-stop building cabins for years.
Every and anything he can fi to get his hands into,
but his age finally has started to catch up with him
He had the hernia, he had a cancer scare
so, um, I thought, if I can get this one last cabin
done for him, he'll be close by
and it'll be a great place for him to just come out,
start a fire, hang up his hat
and enjoy his elder years.
[Atz] It's a lot of cabin, man.
-The question is, is when it will become a lot of cabin. -Yeah.
[Atz] I planned to start building early spring,
but while I was out shoveling snow
and I hit a chunk of ice,
and I tried to shove through it the way I always have
but I jammed my shoulder.
After two or three hours... it was just screaming
and saw a doctor, got an MRI,
X-rays, both,
and, um, you know, they told me there's shoulder damage
so, "Okay, what am I gonna do?"
I needed to get major shoulder surgery.
It's coming to grips with a lot of things.
Getting older... I've shoveled snow all my life.
Hit ice? Just plow through it.
Now I plow through it, and you know, "Oh, I can't do that anymore."
Otto got his ribs broken.
Maybe if he'd been 30, even 40,
they just would've bent instead of broke, who knows?
So it's... it's reality.
[Atz Lee] Homestead has see its fair share of trauma through the years
and, uh, Otto, my dad... they're in that...
phase in their life where they're starting to actuall
come to terms with... not gonna be here forever.
Kilcher generations have carried on five deep now
on the homestead.
Will it go on? Will it exist
Hopefully, Etienne and Augus and that next generation
will want to stick around, you know.
It just takes a couple of people to keep the torch going.
But honestly, you don't know how long
the Kilcher legacy is gonna go.
And I'm not sure if this lifestyle
is really what they want.
But the good news is, Dad,
even though you're not gonna be able to use your arm
you're still gonna be able to build a cabin
and all you're gonna have to do is just point.
[Atz chuckling] Yeah.
[Eivin] My dad is getting out of the hospital today
and it's, um, definitely a little bit surreal.
I think it's gonna be a majo relief for him to come home
and, uh, be with family rather than being alone
in the hospital for so long.
At this point, my dad, uh, his condition has improved.
You just need to come back a little bit.
He had surgery.
They plated four ribs
Ribs that were super crushed, broken in multiple places.
Just 'cause my dad is out of the hospital
doesn't mean he is totally out of the woods.
He has a lot of recovery to
and the doctors say that he really shouldn't do
anything physical for at least a few months.
That cow really did a number on you, man.
[Eivin] Yeah.
They kinda have him put back together.
I know he's in a lot of pain,
but now he's, kind of, aroun to his recovery point
where we can actually start to give him better care
and we can dote over him and make sure that he's
getting everything he needs and he's surrounded by loving family.
It's about, uh, a four-and-half-hour drive
to Homer, you know, we might take a bit more time than that.
so part of getting him out of the hospital
was making sure it was earl enough in the day
that I can drive all the way to Homer
and then still get him there okay.
Kilcher road!
[dogs barking]
-Welcome home, Grampotto! -[Charlotte] Oh my God.
Hello.
We missed you.
-I'm home. -You're home. [chuckles]
-August. -Hello, there.
Oh, man...
[Charlotte] So sweet.
-[Eivin] Don't start coughing, you-- Your heart could... -[Charlotte] Don't cough.
[sobbing]
[Eve] I think it's been quit an emotional roller coaster
for everybody.
You know, we're never ever ready to say goodbye to our parents.
And I just can't even fathom what that would've been like
to not have him anymore
and not have Eivin have him anymore. That, like...
He's suffered so much
just thinking of the idea of that happening.
It's so hard to watch your partner
suffer so deeply, um,
so, yeah, I'm just, like, so thankful...
that is not what we're dealing with right now.
Otto is alive and he is getting better.
Wow, Otto, you're walking.
-Thanks, you guys. -You're welcome.
We're going to leave you with this bone broth
-and these cards, that you can read later. -Oh, that's what we've been
-looking forward to. -Bye, love you.
[indistinct chatter]
You happy to be home?
I'm just so emotional.
Oh, sweetie.
[August] Don't hug him too tight.
I know. I'm so scared to hug you.
So glad you're home.
Oh, man.
[Charlotte] It's the best feeling
in the world to wrap my arms around Otto
It was so depressing when we didn't know
kind of what direction Otto was going in,
and that was really hard.
Those were some scary times.
I think I would just like to lie down flat for a little bit.
[Eivin] Yeah. We got a bed setup for you.
[Otto exhaling] Oh Lord.
Do you like having your own bed controller?
I think he's going to be spoilt.
Okay.
He's back.
-Hi. -Hi.
It's good seeing you again.
Love you lots.
You got a lot of people who care about you.
[dogs barking]
[Charlotte] Morning, sweetie.
[Otto] What day is it?
[Charlotte] Ah. I can't even think. It's Friday.
Oh wow.
When did I get home?
Monday?
[Charlotte] Monday.
Oh, nice August. That'll...
last us a little while longer.
Just trying to help Charlotte out now
with a lot of the stuff my dad used to do.
He would go around and keep the neighborhood clear.
But now I'm kind of going around doing some of it.
It's amazing how somebody gets injured,
and you get like, one person down.
Like a hole is left in the world.
For so much of my life
I've relied on my dad
as this strong defining force on the homestead.
Little bit of skin degradation there.
[Otto] That's the arm that
the cow made mush out of.
[Eivin] I know he'll bounce back
to some capacity from this.
But I also know
it's a major kind of turning point.
[Charlotte] Otto, we're getting
all that adhesive off.
[Eivin] Where, you know, I think he's going to
need to rethink the things he does,
wants to do, can do, should do.
[Otto groans] Lord.
[Eivin] There comes a time on a homestead,
when the older generation, ultimately,
has to pass the reins on to the next generation.
I'm a third generation Kilcher homesteader.
I watched my grandfather hand the reins down to my da
and so it's kind of getting around to that time period
where, maybe those reins are going get passed my way.
The thing about homesteadin
is that it's really hard to on your own.
I've been helping my dad ou
since I was first able to.
And my kids at this point are still kinda too young to help.
But August has stepped up, more than I have ever seen
on the homestead before.
But ultimately, I don't kno if he wants this lifestyle.
You know, I don't even know if he knows what he wants.
Until August come to me
and says that he wants to be a homesteader
I don't really think, that
he is somebody that I can count on long term.
I feel like I'm gonna have to lean on
other homesteaders in the community.
to help out.
[cow mooing]
Back in the ring.
[Otto] There are some important things
things that are needed to be done.
I'll be lying in bed while other people do it.
I'm feeling thankful and extremely guilty,
at the same time.
[August] I use the spear
to kind of peel the bale a little bit.
And then, gonna flick the bale.
Dad has a lot on his plate.
A lot, a lot. And it's...
all of a sudden up to me to start
maybe caring for my parents
and this place.
I don't know where I would be at.
It certainly is like...
it's not in anyone's like life plan.
Right? When they are 23.
Like I wanna go see things at this point.
I wanna get out and explore.
He finally has a chance to take a break,
which is great for him and great for all of us too.
But hey, guy needs one once in a while.
At least you're back and you're in one piece.
[Charlotte] Sitting here evaluating
you know where we are at.
What if Otto can't get it back together
to be who he's been all these years,
take care of all that he does,
like, what do we do then?
[Otto] There's days when I have hop
and then there's days where I hurt.
I think the hurt is good because it reminds me that
I shouldn't do anything too ahead of time.
How do I look?
-[Eivin] Pretty good. -You look dressed.
[Otto] I've got several people
that are gonna kick my ass if I start too soon.
I'm actually outside.
[Eivin] I know. Look at you.
[Otto] Alongside of that
is the recognition,
that my days are numbered.
And that I can be broken,
and that I can die.
That I got given another inning.
So, I am gonna reassess
a lot of things.
And in some ways, I expect a change a bunch.
Oh, look at that view.
You ready for this?
[Eivin] I am if you are.
[Otto] It's been a long winter.
It's been a long recovery,
but I am feeling pretty damn good.
Got a little pain still,
but I think I am ready to get back to work.
Oh man, I can feel it better already.
What do you think, honey?
[Charlotte] You look different.
The doctor gave him the go ahead
for small bits of physical labor.
But he's ready to jump in there
full go.
And I just don't want him to hurt himself again
'cause he's not all the way healed.
Let's do a kiss without the...
Oh, that's so much better.
Oh yeah!
[Otto claps]
The closer we get.
[Atz] They say, this is one of
the most important exercises
to get those scapular muscles.
[Atz Lee] Un huh.
So I gotta do bunch of these everyday.
Every one of my 73 years has been different.
I thought last year was challenging,
because I had ulcers
and a hernia operation.
But this past year...
...my brother Otto and I both had a hard t time.
You know, he had a serious accident.
Thank God, he recovered, and,
I had major shoulder surgery.
[doctor] Rotator cup is here.
on the bottom.
It's been humbling.
I've had to learn lot of patience.
[Atz] I'm down to
one day a week now with my therapy.
[Atz Lee] Now, I've had a shoulder surgery myself.
It's a hard thing to recover from.
So, now that my dad's home,
he's staying out at the canyon's edge.
He's just kind of recouping out there
until we can get his retirement cabin built.
It's going to be hard for hi to kind of just stand aroun
and not be doing the work himself,
but the recovery time on it is going to put him out
pretty much for the year.
[Atz groans]
[Atz] The hardest thing
has been just dealing with the pain.
Push it up.
And that together with aging
Little down at times
just with the...
dealing with it.
Adjusting to aging,
Adjusting to... injuries,
part of reality.
Our bodies and brains
start working less well.
Mm-hmm.
[Atz Lee] My dad's kind of been through a lot
with his shoulder surgery.
Otto, you know, almost got stomped to death by a cow.
That's really making them take a hard, long look
at how much more time do they have left?
What they wanna do before they go?
Just really want to encourage my dad
to take time and to stop and put down the reins.
The hard labor.
Stop trying to rip his arms apart with chainsaws.
And let the next generation
start picking up some of that slack.
[Atz] My dad,
he didn't really give up much control
of the homestead.
I used to say to him, "Why don't you let the kids
run the homestead and sit back and see how they do?"
How we do.
No. No. He wasn't ready for it.
I think it's..
much
better
now
with
me and Otto
more
letting you guys make decisions.
The problem to me isn't
will the next generation step up.
It's will the old generation step aside
and let 'em do it
instead of waiting till we die
and then they suddenly take over.
Eivin is much more involved...
Mm-hmm.
...in having a say in the homestead
and kind of help in run it
than my generation was.
[Atz Lee] One of the great things
about living in Alaska is,
that you cannot ignore change.
Leaves fall off trees,
bears go into the holes in the ground
and winter happens.
But with winter, will come spring.
Change will always happen.
If I could say one thing to the Kilcher elders,
it would be...
embrace change, you know.
[Otto whoops]
Oh.
Let's do this.
[Otto] Today is my first day back
working with my cows.
I'm alive.
I was gonna say, it's like you know
after you've been bucked off, get back on that horse,
and face that... face that fear.
I mean, my heart is racing a million miles an hour.
I'm just going to...
get the cows in here.
Let them start eating hay
and then we're gonna figure out which cows
are gonna get tags, Charlotte.
[Charlotte] I'm kinda nervous about Ott
being around cows again,
after his accident.
Working the cows is just always kind of crazy.
I mean you gotta lot of animals moving around
A lot of potential to be slammed by somebody
even if they are not mean and crazy.
But it's time to drive the cows back
to the head of the bay for pasture,
and Otto's the only cattlema left on the homestead.
[August] Well Dad, are you getting any "patisda"?
What is "patisda"?
[August] PTSD.
Well, yeah, I guess so.
I'm definitely way more cautious,
up close and in a confined area with the cow
I'm a lot more conscious about their mood,
and a lot more respectful about their mood.
All right, you come... Could you come here
and... and stand here, so you can count
the calves coming in.
[August] I'm worried about my dad,
getting back out here with the cows because,
quite frankly, it seems like he's having
a pretty tough time still with the accident.
[August] Are you all right?
[Otto] I don't know.
A little intimidating.
[August] Remember,
you're not impressing anyone if you injure yourself again.
[Otto] I thought I was ready,
but I don't think I am.
[August] Oh, man.
[Eivin] This season on Alaska: The Last Frontier...
Wow, this is so cool.
A message for your kids.
Daddy's flying a plane.
[August] This year, things a going to real different.
[Eivin] As our parents continue to get older
I am willing to step up and try to do more.
But it's also up to the next generation
to do their part.
Oh, that was a nice one.
What a beauty!
[Atz Lee] We always hope
the next generation takes up
where you left off, you know.
Hopefully Etienne and Augus will want to stick around.
Kind of frightened.
A little bit more than kinda.
[Atz Lee] Etienne's heading out to college.
This is kind of our last summer together
before he goes out...
and starts his own life.
[Etienne] It's extremely hard to leave
but I am desperately looking forward to going.
You've struggled a little bit with trying to decide
you know, what to do.
If you're not gonna get pushed out of the nest,
you gotta jump out of the nest on your own.
[August laughing]
Look straight ahead. Don't worry about us, okay?
[Eve] This year we have new friend
and new faces.
We're still new to homesteading.
We're still learning as we go.
Get her.
[man] Oh God.
Oh God.
Really, what's the worse that could happen?
[Charlotte] Oh my God!
[thuds]
[August] Dad!