You guys know I am a newbie so I ask a lot of questions. What happens if the water level drops after the ice is formed?
There typically will be a layer of ice, air then shoreline around the edge of the pond (possibly ice, air, then water too), and the ice in the middle of the pond will still be floating on top of the water. It stays suspended over the water until the weight of the ice is too much for it to support, then it cracks, falls and then again floats on the pondwater. If that happens, be careful because the weight of a person can make the ice with air under it break when a person walks on it.
