When the pond is iced over, is it also snow covered?

I know you mentioned kids ice skating, so one could assume it's not snow covered, or you clean off the snow.

Keeping snow off the ice helps sunlight get through and creates some oxygen from plants in the water, or so I've been told.

Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:"
"She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."