Do your research now, reap the rewards down the road. It will be easier(and cheaper)to do before you move the first shovel of dirt. Check with your county drainage department and DNR etc. Also remember the amount of work it will take to keep the site up. Algea control, leaf removal, Cattail control etc. will become a task on a 3 acre plus pond. My pond is just a big puddle, but everytime my good friend (who has a much larger pond) comes to visit he always comments that he wishes his pond wasn't so darn big cause the maintenace cost and time is a killer.
Actually, I kind of thought that's what I was doing...
...my research now, to save me headaches down the road (as in posting pictures of a property I have not yet even purchased because I want to know whether the pond I want is feasible on this property).
I understand that ponds do not manage themselves and a fair amount of labor must be expended...but really, that kind of stuff isn't "work" to me. It's relaxation. I "work" in an emergency department, dealing with one catastrophe after another...car accidents, heart attacks, strokes, stitches, flu, obstructed bowels, pneumonia...giving bad news to families...12 hours at a time, year round. That's my work.
Getting out in the sunshine (even when it involves a little back-straining labor and puddles of sweat), connecting with nature, getting to spend some quality time with my 6 kids (and eventually my many grandkids), helping them to see and understand the more important things in life..and perhaps occasionally hooking into a monster bass, catfish or bluegill...that's not so much work, in my book. That's an escape from the reality of my daily grind.
I honestly don't mean any of this to sound argumentative. Just meaning to point out that one man's labor is another man's love.
