I remember my older three putting on all the outerwear they could carry, slogging off through waist-high drifts, out to the beaver dam carrying shovels and a spud. Hours later, home soggy and weary but all excited about tomorrow when they could go out and skate as they had shoveled tons of snow off the ice, spudded it to flood so it would be smooth skating. Nine times out of ten, the next day, they got up to find a not so nice 10" or more new snow fall. It didn't discourage them for long though, as when they did luck out and it didn't snow, they had great skating parties with a bonfire and hot chocolate in thermoses.