Seasons & episodes

The Kilchers must not only reuse and recycle, but also reinvent.

The Kilchers rush to finish winter prep work and Otto drives his herd home.

Otto gets creative in beating the frozen soil when moving the outhouse.

Eivin's deer quota is met and it's up to Eve to bring home enough meat.

The Kilchers race through the last few days of fall before winter hits.

With extended scenes, added facts and fan tweets - Take a deeper look at Kilcher family history with archived footage including Yule, the family patriarch and original homesteader and his wife Ruth. Otto and Atz share parenting insights and Otto and Eivin search for gold.

With summer half over, the Kilchers head out fishing, but it's not for fun... at least, not entirely. They need hundreds of pounds of fish to eat and barter with during winter. Each couple has their own time-proven technique for catching salmon, halibut and trout.

Atz Lee and Eivin travel 160 miles and brave the bears of "Terrible Island" to hunt deer. Otto refuses to admit defeat and will use all the blackpowder he has to remove a pesky stump blocking his progress. Eve helps Charlotte solve a swarming bee problem.

Fall arrives; the Kilchers scramble to finish their winter prep. Otto confronts a predator killing calves from inside his herd. Atz Lee and Jane catch and smoke salmon in their secret fish camp. Eivin uses a samurai sword to prepare Thanksgiving dinner.

Cattleman Otto Kilcher sees life a little differently. Some people think he's crazy, but he'll tell you it's just his willingness to accept whatever life brings him. Otto's sense of humor is infectious and his ingenuity inspires family and neighbor alike.

For the Kilchers, necessity truly is the mother of invention and recycling takes on a whole new level -- from bone yard scavengers and make-do parts to tasty roadkill suppers. And it's not just the Kilcher men who have to be tough and resourceful.

Late fall. Half the herd returns early from the summer grazing grounds so the Kilchers drive the rest home across icy rivers. The family rushes to finish other winter prep work but still makes time for a beach-scavenged gourmet picnic.

Otto gets creative to beat the frozen soil when he realizes he must move the outhouse, now. Eivin takes Eve on her first deerhunt on Afognak Island, which is teeming with wild animals including awake bears. Atz and sons gather trees for a big new project.

Otto pulls porcupine quills out of a colt's face. With Eivin's legal quota met, it's up to Eve to bring home more deer meat from their hunting trip, but she's conflicted about the kill. Atz and Atz Lee snare rabbits; Jane gets a lesson in rabbit skinning.

The Kilchers race through the last few days of fall before winter finally hits, prepping the hunter and cattleman cabins, winterizing the bee hive, sorting the root cellar, bottling the raspberry mead, and creating a new field with an excavator and barge.

Take a deeper look at Kilcher family history with archived footage including Yule, the family patriarch and original homesteader. Otto and Atz share parenting insights and Otto and Eivin search for gold.

After 8 months of winter, the Kilchers have cabin fever. Eivin and Atz Lee get caught overnight in the backcountry hunting an Alaskan delicacy. Otto uses ingenuity to get an orphan calf to connect with an unwilling mother. And there's much to do with poo.

Family projects: Before the spring thaw floods the area, Atz Sr and his 3 sons build a bridge across a river using chainsaws and fallen logs. Otto and Eivin create two amphibious crafts from their ATVs. Meanwhile, Atz Lee and Jane build a new smokehouse.

Springtime on the homestead; Atz and the family goes on a black bear hunt; Atz, Sr.'s confidence wavers; Otto gives CPR to calves; Eve plants the family garden.

Atz Lee and Jane climb reefs to hunt for octopus. Jane must face her fear of heights or be trapped by the tide. Otto struggles to keep a newborn calf alive during the annual spring cattle drive. Eve gives Eivin news that will change the homestead forever.

Eivin and pregnant Eve decide to finally add running water to their home, but Eivin hits more than water during the installation. Otto builds Charlotte a milking parlor but takes a faceful of fuel in the process. Atz and Atz Lee head out to hunt bear.

Midsummer: the Kilchers scramble to make the most of 22 hrs of sunlight. Atz tracks down predators killing the herd. Otto gets creative to help a cow with an udder problem. Eivin builds an outhouse. Atz Lee and Jane are startled while fishing for salmon.

Atz Sr, Atz Lee and Jane travel to the highest peaks to hunt for wild goat. A wasp infestation destroys Eivin and Eve’s bee hive and summer honey harvest. Otto and Charlotte get creative to protect what's left of their hay crop so it will last the winter.

Thanksgiving on the homestead. The Kilchers come together to enjoy the fruits of their year-long labor and share each dish's story. From turkey and pumpkin pie to Yule's famous nettlebread and Homesteader pie, nothing comes easy when making this feast.