Meg, you really do look good in that green-found-in-the-mud dress! Of course, you would make a gunny-sack look good! God bless and keep the entire family safe!

Meg&John..Very cleaver, money saved is money earned. no better building materials Meg..Green is your color..You look great in your new spring line..

I had a place in Myrtle Beach as well. When covid hit and everything was closed, they moved a lot of immigrants into the condos that they couldn't rent out. WE SOLD AS SOON AS WE COULD! Crime out the wazoo. We purchased a homestead in northwest central PA in the Appalachians. LOVE IT HERE!

John, Just remember, when as you mentioned 'Manning Up' when considering moving those heavy rocks. You only get issued with one back bone, and when it's damaged, you'll suffer the consequences for the rest of your life, especially as you are going to build your own house at the top of the property. Time to consider heavy chains, snatch blocks, tractor and other lifting equipment, rather than injuring your back. If you like a time to start using brain power over brute force. Be careful out there, Be lucky and be safe. Regards Robin....

I think you 2 are doing one heck of a good job, and this is coming from an old Backhoe Owner/Operator.

Guys, what you have there is a spring that supplied a cistern. By the looks of it, it was probably built in the 1930s - 40s. They where probably trying 'clog' it up by duping trash, cloaths and rock into it. Thet were very common on farms 'back in the day' and if you can clean it up, its an excelent source of water, and if its a good spring its good water.

You are living every little boys dream! I mean little boy from 7 years old to 70! Thanks fun videos

My wife and I first watch your video on using snatch block. We found ourselves going back to your first video. We are now on 71 and have love each one. You and the family have a gift of being yourself. We live in NW Montana. We have a 4 year old Kubota B2650. I’m retired heavy equipment operator at Glacier National Park. Keep safe! We look forward to watching you and your family on your journey.

Thanks for letting me enjoy your adventure

You work so hard john & you can do so many different things. You are to hard on yourself. You are all an incredible family. Praying for you all 🙏❤..

John,back in the day,we used to paint the inside of loader bucket with "Lubraplate". It was kinda expensive but well worth it!

You People's are a Joy to watch... The interactions of the Family and Your Accomplishments are Impressive... Can't wait to see your creek flow under your stone bridge. Oh and the Spring collection , Runway ready. Be Safe!

Hi John & Meg!! I’m the other half of Peace in the Valley! I had to get a comment in - that Fashion Show was EPIC! 😂 Just wanted you both to know from me that I look forward to your videos & am glad this piece of technology exists!

I was hooked at "snatch blocks". Can't not watch. You guys are awesome ... live the dream ....

I'm from Kent in England, and really enjoy your video's. It's amazing the power of the tractor for it's size. Meg is pretty good on it as well . Harry

Love ur journey. I like being part of ur journey watching. Ur family now !

Meg you are amazing on Ricky. You have learned so fast. You go 👧 .

Just found you guys.....what a joy to watch you working hard to achieve your dream.....Spring Collection -- nice....! Looking forward to seeing your next videos.....

I am well acquainted with snatch blocks and moved a lot of logs with them. It looks like your property is may be on top of a limestone "quarry". I envy you for your fortitude and determination. You are living a dream that I feel that I am a bit too old to start. But enjoy watching you following yours. 😄 Gee, I thought I was the only one to "coffee up"! 😁 Just think of all the money you are saving on gym memberships. All your hard work does have a side benefit, and the feeling of accomplishment you will have when done. Although it seems like you aren't ever done, you always seem to find more things to do. Keep up the great work and the videos.

Last year i was in a deep dive on youtube trying to figure out the best value for my dollar in a subcompact tractor. After watching many videos on Deere, Kabota, Branson, and many others and comparing prices and features, then watching what you guys have accomplished with Rickey, I ended up buying an RK24 just like yours. His name is Randy.

Nice job finessing the rocks into the bridge!

Love the spring collection! Lol

I found a spring house (box) on our property after I had bought it. The box is about 4'x4''x4' deep and stays full of water with an overflow tube like yours. Unfortunately it is in the bottom of a very deep steep ravine and it's going to take some work to even get to it by walking. There's an old road bed with tree growth that's probably 20-30 years old so it's been here for a while. The box is covered with plywood and the water is a clear and clean as can be. I would love to get to it easily and clean it up for use. I don't understand the clothes found in your. I was truly expecting you would dig up a body at any time with all that clothing. Glad you didn't! As usual, excellent video. Keep them coming. Thanks!

You guys are so fortunate to have so much building materials on you property. Jon great tractor work. If you have not ever operated a tractor before your amazing

Watching episode 45. Don’t burn railroad ties. Creosote poisoning. I really enjoy watching your channel. Your a great family.

I live in Rowan county NC. I imagine you drove through Rowan county from Myrtle Beach to south west Virginia either on interstate 85 or highway 52. If you get the ditch in front of the spring cleaned out where the water can flow out of the box and get the spring box cleaned out the water will flow out and clear up. If you keep the box cleaned out all the way to the bottom and fix it back like it was it will fill up the spring box and the larger box. I bet they took water from the spring box to drink and used the bigger box like a refrigerator when it was built years ago.

We have been watching you pretty much since the beginning! I appreciate your kindness and love you have about it all! I do want to give you something to think about for both of you. Protect your back, you might need some of those belts that they wear on warehouses, please, please think about it. I have back problems and it can change your life, you both are still very young! Here’s a though you might want to think about too, maybe you can get your driveway done by someone else, then you will spend your time starting to build your beautiful home? Just thought I get you to think about it. I am a mom and I like to share my thoughts to help, not trying to be a know it all, I just care. You are my favorite show now! May the the Lord bless you and protect you!!! Keep being you and keep enjoying what you’re doing, but be careful!!! Oh yea, I like all you have been building! So beautiful!!!🌺

When I worked for a small asphalt company, we used to do some landscaping as well. When digging wet clay we would sometimes spray a light coat of diesel in the bucket to encourage it to release. Otherwise we would have to dig it out with a shovel or a pick

It's probably been said already, but bears repeating, the outlet of a spring box (or "pond" in this case) should be at the same height or below the inlet. If it gets too much above the inlet the"head" (water above that level) can be enough that it actually changes the direction of the spring... I'm really enjoying your channel. It is an example of what I want to do with ours, one we get to the property. In the meantime, we are just starting out at Red Barn House...

I say with it, just make sure the base is good and solid. I love the fact that you are having your children help. It an experience they will never forget.

Makes a change from the plastic KZfaq fodder, a real hard working couple, no faff just honest hard work. More power to you both and Meg, keep smiling, you make the sun come out. 👍🇬🇧👍

I can't believe you got them so clean. Amazing 😅😊😊

Meg, your demonstration of snatch blocks was perfect, hence the traffic. That is what brought me here and I ended up spending last weekend watching y'all doing awesome things. Thank you for sharing, and God Bless!

I'm so happy I happen by y'all's channel couldn't sleep but God used you kids to bless this old broken down saddle sore biker with a good old-fashion dose of laughter. That's the best medication a person can never get to much of... THANK YOU FOR BLESSING ME... I'm looking forward to getting caught up by watching the rest of y'all's videos... May you kids be blessed in Jesus name... BBE..

TRACTOR TIPS When you go full travel on the bucket it kinda slams a little bit and the vibrations from that can break the suction and get the mud out sometimes. Also when you have a little bit of slack in the bushing/pin you can work the controls vigorously and make the bucket shake. Those two things can be done with front or back bucket. If neither works cleaning the backhoe you can stretch it out with the bucket all the way open, set the bushing down (on soft dirt) and bring the teeth of the bucket down to touch the ground also. Now pick up the boom a little and slam it on the dirt a few times. I would love to see you get a ripper blade to change out for the backhoe bucket. With those you can cut through some roots and rip through some of that layered stone you have. I think you would use it more than the bucket. Meg is doing great but for practice try going full reach all the way up to the tractor just barely touching the ground with the teeth. You will be surprised how often that comes in handy. Thanks for letting us tag along on your adventure guys. 😎

You need to get a bucket with teeth on it for the front bucket if the front bucket you have is a smooth blade. The teeth will dig in better and break that rock out better. The trommel might need some legs to get it up high enough to have area for the dirt and rocks to pile up under it so you don't have to clean out from under it each time you put a scoop in to it. A funnel type thing that is the width of the front tractor bucket with the bottom angled toward the trommel and the sides angled to the middle where everything can go into the trommel. It seems like I really enjoy telling other people how to do things but I'm only trying to help by giving you some ideas or suggestions as to how to do things. Only trying to help. Sorry if I come off as a know it all because I'm not trying to do that either. I certainly don't know everything but I'm not far away now. LOL! Hope some of the things I've said here helps you in some way. I'm enjoying your videos. The rock crossing looks neat. Great video! Stay well. -Wil 👍 PS- seen the tooth bucket at the end of the video.

I discover your channel today, I think you need to discover the channel of Captain Kleeman, he is also doing stuff with little tractor, and add to it home made tools like a winch, which can be very helpful dragging rocks and trees! Greetings from Belgium

This year mulch your garden with tons of non-walnut leaves. All spring and summer they are soaking up lots of minerals from deep in the soil. As they decompose those minerals feed your plants and conserve moisture

Love that spring collection...Devil Wears Prada revisited...now where's the runway?🤣

You should clean out the bottom of the ditch before you place bridging cap rocks. The ditch will silt up and be nearly impossible to improve flow later. Just a suggestion. Plan now for a way to maintain a clear channel. Maybe place an old cable in the ditch , end to end so, in the future, you could improvise something to drag through to dredge out the accumulated sediment.

You guys are so smart, funny, innovative, hardworking, entertaining and resourceful and I'm very happy to see your audience growing!

You 2 have a great imagination on doing things. Just remember if don't use some kind of filter cloth on the rocks, it will fill with dirt and plug eventually. Would love to have your stone on our place.2 yes ago I built the road in 1/4 mile and found 6 rocks none bigger than a soccer ball.

It's amazing what two people can do that have a common goal as well as the ability to agree to disagree and then follow the best course. John thought the best way was to place those big slabs one way, but Meg said it should go the other way and John said okay. He's picking his battles. But then Meg figured she might be wrong and said let's re-lick that calf and do it your way. She wasn't afraid to say she was wrong. And John was big enough of a man not to say, "I told you so". Besides no one likes a "I told you so". Love that seepage culvert. Great job. Looking forward to Tuesday.

I've got to get me a tractor. I'm 62 and still do everything by hand, and my back isn't as young as it used to be. A tractor would really help me get a lot of work done, and I've got a lot of work to do.

Love the reintroduction. Been here watching from the beginning 👏👏

Hi John and Meg, Just caught up, been binge watching from the beginning over the last week, love the way you all have a great, can do attitude, you are so hilarious to. Glad you found a shirt in the spring to replace John’s fire damaged one haha. Great show, god bless from the UK 👍

Good job Meg on the backhoe . John and Meg your a great team .

Binge watched all your episodes and am loving it. Took me a couple weeks to catch up. Watching the beginning of this episode with Meg messing around with the three point system, you guys need a 3-point Quick Hitch. Only about $100-$200 depending, it saves you sooo much time connecting to your attachments. Check it out! :)

I just found you guys the other day and have watched a half dozen videos. I have to say, it's pretty impressive what you are able to accomplish with such a small tractor. You're definitely getting your money's worth out of Rickey.

The clothes were probably used to insulate over the spring box to keep the surface water from freezing and busting the box apart

Love your sense of humor. Good job on your "bridge"!

This past year, I have seen a lot of free eval tractors going out to homestead channels from Kubota, TYM, and Rural King. Of all the channels I watch, I would have to say you do more work/eval/torture testing with your tractor than any other homesteaders out there. The way your views are trending, TYM would be wise to get in on the ground floor and sponsor your channel. If anyone watching is near a dealer, drop them a hint to tune in. Putting on the shirt is bad enough, but Meg, talk about being a trooper. I mean, come on, eeeeewwwwwwuuuuuu!!!!!

The happiest years of our married life were the seventeen we lived in a rural house near Staunton, VA. Meg, I think you should spend more time running the tractor. Leave the snatch blocks and the shovels to John. As soon as you change roles, I think your productivity as a team will go up. Love you and your content! Live the dream.

Just found your channel last week. Watched all. I need me a Meg on my property. 😂. If rural king doesn’t sponsor you all soon. You put that 24 through the ringer for sure.

Great job Meg with the tracker

If you think y'all have done a bunch of work on that spring imagine how much work the people did who built the structure. Probably with no tractor. Crazy

Well finally worked my way through all the episodes,and enjoyed them all, problem is now I can't watch three in an evening. so I hope you find time for lots more filming, Meg you are so vibrant I bet you're enjoying your life more than you ever did. No rat race, no phone calls, your life now will keep you much younger than your old one would have, you are blessed and a blessing.

Hey from Canada John and Meg so interesting to whach you guys at work you get so much done with that toy tractor and that dress just your size Meg

Love you guys been watching all day!!! Dreams do come true. Stay the course!!

Love the spring collection. Y'all looked good. Make sure the water can get out from under the rock bridge. Meaning make sure the ditch on the downhill side of the bridge is not lower at the bridge than it is further down so the water won't stay under the bridge saturating the ground causing the bridge to sink. I'm sure you know this. Again just trying to help. If I lived near you guys I'd definitely come over and help with any excavating ventures you undertake. When you do fix the driveway permanently, I'd strongly suggest you use driveway fabric. It looks like silt fence. It comes in rolls 12 feet wide and 350 feet long. I think those are the measurements. Might be different widths but the length I'm pretty sure is 350 feet. It helps bridge over wet saturated places. Water can go through it but mud can't come up through it so it distributes the vehicle weight over a larger area. Also take off the grass and topsoil where the driveway is going to be before you put the driveway fabric down. The fabric also helps keep the stone you put on the driveway not to sink as much over time where you need more stone as the rock has been pushed into the ground. You will still need to resurface the driveway but not as often. One more suggestion is the first layer of stone you put down on the driveway should be at least 4 inches thick. The quarry rock you used in this video would make a good base to start from over top the fabric then put a 1 to 2 inch layer of cleaner stone over that, either crusher run, ABC, road base whatever you call it or whatever its called there where you're at or a washstone variety sized around ¾ inch to 1½ inch which is #67 or #57 depending on the quarry. #67 being a smaller size than #57. The driveway fabric is not cheap but its definitely something I'd consider especially if you have soft spongy ground.

New subscriber. Visited Myrtle Beach many years ago…don’t blame you for pulling out. I’ve also been to the area you are in now, and you made a good call! Don’t worry about the clothes…until you start finding bones 🦴!!😳😁 It’ll be great to have that water source!!

keeping a bucket or shovel wet helps shed clay is all i know...oil? lol...all i can say...you folks are fun to watch...

you should use two stones side by side but staggered and back filled with your shale gravelto provide a protected channelfor water flow

Something you want to do is make your crossing a lot wider than you think necessary. Where you are on a turn on one side and in case you need to pull a trailer across it at some point. You always think you can add on but it us mush easier to do at one time. Voice if experance. Great job. Doing good Meh, keep trying to get my wife on our backhoe more.

Absolutely loved the drone footage with the tractor and the 'spring collection is awesome, I thought sure as heck we would see Jon in that dress when it came outta the mud lol. You guys are fantastic.

So you guys are doing what I did. amazing satisfaction in working the land and accomplishing these projects. You guys are who we wish we had as neighbors. :)

Wanted to thank the both of you for the recommendation of the tooth bar. Works great

I have heard if you pump the spring out that will open the water way up under ground. Be careful not to go to deep and lose water. Good luck.

Great video! RK should be putting a huge trailer full of gear together for you guys. Can't think of any better marketing than you doing what you're doing with that little tractor!

Rock Movers! VERY impressive work. Had to hold my breath a couple of times as the large rocks were perfectly placed! Beautifully 'almost' completed!!!!! The ending is SOOOOOOOOO GREAT! Thanks for the laugh.

You can spray all kinds of things like diesel fuel, or burnt motor oil to get the stuff not to stick. The most environmentally friendly thing to use would be vegetable cooking oil but for it to work you'd have to spray the bucket each time before you took a scoop out. I've run heavy equipment since 2004 and I can say the best thing to do with that sticky gooey dirt is to rake through it with your teeth and break it up a bit and not scoop out so much that it goes all the way in packing tight against the back of the bucket. Leave an air gap between the gooey crap dirt and back of the bucket. Don't fill the bucket so full. If you do get a scoop full stuck you just need to shake the bucket real hard to get it out. Don't be afraid to slam the bucket open to get it out. Shake the bucket control handle back and fourth rapidly side to side (or the direction the controls open and close the bucket which is usually side to side) so you get the whole machine shaking a bit. Its a little bit rough on it so I try not to get the gooey dirt stuck in the first place. Don't leave a half a bucket full of that crap and continue to dig packing it in there even tighter. If you do that you'll be digging the bucket out with a shovel. I learned that from experience it first had and digging out a 3 yard excavator bucket with a shovel is not fun. Hope I said this how you can understand what I'm trying to say.

Hey John, hey Meg, just had to tell you, huge "Thank you" for explaining the snatch blocks set up and drawing it out. I was able to pull 11 stumps in just over 4 hours! I've picked up 2 more snatch blocks to further increase the mechanical advantage, can't wait for the ground to dry up just a little. I went back and watched everything from the start, really enjoy your channel and what you are doing with your property. I have to agree with John, everyone should have a Meg! Thanks again.

for heavy rock, get yourself a piece of old conveyor belt to drag them on behind the tractor, I think you might have plugged up your stream, if not now possibly in the future

John and Meg - CONGRATULATIONS on your recent growth explosion. So happy for y'all!! I thought the heated cow trough was going to be your big breakout but then Meg started 'splaining pulleys with her scratch pad and you broke the internet!! Take care and stay warm....29 tonight in Florida. Wait, what??!!

Spring collection...😆🪄👗👔❄ The driveway build looks awesome! Great work.

Jon and Meg you are doing a great job! I cannot believe how many subscribers you have picked up recently! Incredible!

Just came across your channel a few days a few days ago.. You guys are a hoot. Enjoying your videos keep on keeping on

Nice work on that bridge !!!

Going the distance kids. This old man loves that model almost as much as you because of putting it all out there took some courage to be filmed after baby is born and flat tummy went away. Now to me... your looking your best! A real woman for sure. As for the choice in shirts, I'm more the Michael Landon look of blue denim..pale shades. The best part is to set down to dinner, not be ashamed to have potatoes and gray, a big pork chop and some greens. Off that with some coleslaw and set to take on another day. First timer here and subscribed knowing exactly what I am getting in to. Keep them coming... I really don't know what to make of the tank except I have seen them before. Strange to be bringing laundry of the seventies out of there. You had to of got enough dirt out to plant a garden from the seep there. I do believe most were dug up and discontinued though.

I just found your great KZfaq channel. It's fun to watch you guys because you have so much energy and actually get things accomplished. We live in the Staunton, VA area and really enjoy the mountains around here. It's a lot of hard work, but you seem to to work so well together. Stay safe and enjoy the children.

Looks great. Good job. Thanks for sharing. I hope ya'll make it well and have a great time there.

Enjoy your videos and all the work and dedication.

Just found you today love in it from Cape Briton Island N /S Canada ..

Hi Guys, We love your video's so much after 7 days I'm checking 2 times a day to see if you posted a new one. Lmbo. When we do asphalt deisel fuel is sprinkled on the truck or trailer bed to help it not stick. Maybe that will work for clay also. Stay safe and warm keep the Rockstar videos coming.

Nice to see you guys

Very nice job on your stone bridge!

Great job. Good to see teamwork. Beautiful property!

Great idea John the water will flow great

I wasn’t even looking for a snatch block…. But that’s what got me hooked. Good luck with your homestead! Keep camera rolling.

Good job guys!!! As always, y'all are awesome, so keep 'em coming. I honestly cannot believe you put those clothes on...I laughed hard!!

Meg, you will master the tracker in no time. Love the Spring collection! Let us know when you are ready to take orders ❤️

I studied ancient roman roads that lasted 1000s of yrs and now i wana build my driveway like that. Also, u should erect one of the big long stones in ur yard as like a family monument. U could carve some fun stuff into it and itll be there forever.

John, big rocks like that one can give you a set of nutz that will hang down to the ground Been there-n-done that and had two surgeries to fix them!

I live in an old farmhouse my great grandfather built that is a post and beam foundation resting on a cinder block crawlspace, I would suggest that you hire someone to do the excavation and compaction. If you can then pour a concrete base to help eliminate settling that will occur in the future.

The easiest way I've found to prevent clay from sticking in the bucket it to "rake" the clay with your teeth loosening it up. After its loose dont pack it into the bucket. Try to scoop the loose dirt only. If you pack the clay into the bucket it's going to create a suction. We have the same problem on the other side of Virginia (hampton roads) with clay as you do. Just no rocks.

We use a product called slip plate a graphite coating that reduces friction withstands high pressure water resistant we apply it to lawn mower decks the underside, we use it on combine headers, and buckets, shredders box blades. Worst case with the buck you tilt it and shake it everything will fall out. I like it. But we use it more commercially so the value is there. Idk maybe worth a try. It last a while but isn't permanent. It's a seasonal deal I would say, however these are heavy everyday use items if your not putting 8 hours a day on it it may last a couple years.

Hi, came across your channel 2 weeks ago, love it

Cute dogs!🐶

I am 75. When I was 5-6 we had to use a spring for our water. I think if you can get to where the water is coming out I think you can enlarge to allow for higher water flow.

We’ll I stumbled across your channel last week. Decided to go back to the first segment. Now after what 69 episodes. As the previous watcher said love you can do attitude ! I’m impressed with Meg jumping in to do everything. Also amazed how hard the RK24 works for you guys!