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 everyone.

For the Kilchers, necessity truly is the mother of invention and recycling takes a on whole new level -- from bone yard scavenges 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Spring has sprung on the homestead. Atz and family head out on a black bear hunt, but as Jane's confidence gets stronger, Atz Sr's waivers. Otto gives CPR to two prematurely born calves.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

A persistent porcupine nails several of the Kilchers' too-curious animals with quills. Taking them out is a painful and sometimes dangerous procedure. Atz and his family carefully jack up and move an old abandoned cabin.

Atz and Atz Lee swim their horses across a chilly lake to get to bull moose hunting grounds. Bad weather and feeling under the weather won't deter them from the prize. Eivin helps Eve with a special delivery. Otto and Charlotte bury a friend.