Try building a pond lmao. I feel for ya, I'm 25 and my back is already fucked. Australian Dream works wonders if you're sore, I'll shill for that shit it works great.
EPDM liner? you absolutely need a few people. 3 guys for a 10x15 I'd say. Shit's heavy, doesn't fold nice and gets hard in the sun with no water. Go for RPE. Little bit easier to work with, if done on a small scale. Shit's meant for agricultural water basins, tough stuff too. Just make sure to put a felt underlayment (thick gardening felt will work fine) regardless of material.
also, a shelf helps insanely. cut a shelf around the pond, boulders/stones on that, then more stone at ground level hiding liner. Learned that that hard way - for both installations and not eating shit when you slip going in for maintainence.
Oh hell yeah man, anything landscaping is some tough, tough stuff, especially when shovels are involved. Just convinced the Fiancee to build a skoolie (school bus converted into RV, those things are CHEAP) and hail mary it with some cheap ass land in Maine to gtfo of NJ. Gonna build an earthship (think Hobbit hole made out of dirt packed tires, then cemented, with a greenhouse in front). Looking forward to the homestead but that is gonna be a HELL of a project
I've thought about converting my 93 f150 to woodsmoke. The skoolie is just gonna be a one-off on the road though, build it up, buy land, plant it on land and live out of it until our real house is done. Great idea. HHO seems a little more appealing though. I mean people have been assassinated over it after all, and piss is literally an option for fuel at that point. Actual piss.
Planning on all of it, hopefully, as unrealistic as that sounds. With the exception of beef, I truly don't think I would be able to bring myself to slaughter a cow I raised unless I absolutely HAD to….pigs either. Chickens , fish, goats, sheep, yes.