Last spring I had too much water to move dirt from my half dug pond in NE without pumping it out. With about a foot of ice, I was curious if anyone has ever heard of removing this ice and digging during the winter months? It's probably too late now, but I'm curious for future references. I used a hand auger and it was solid ice down to dry dirt. Anyone ever attempted this?

It sucks.. Dirt turns into giant concrete slabs when frozen..

Agreed! Once you get the frozen stuff moved it ain't bad, but if it's cold out and the ground freezes overnight you're back fighting slabs of "concrete" again.