Pete,
I wasn’t being completely honest when I said that I don’t know of any way to bring order to a chaotic scene, the honest answer is “There is a way to edit away some of the chaos” but it can be tedious and time consuming because it’s not something that can be done with artificial intelligence (AI) software, it requires manually cloning with a clone tool set at 100% opacity but with various flows and hardness.
The origin point of the cloning tool has to be reset very often to prevent any repeating patterns, a reset is required with almost every single stamp, so, you really need to keep one finger on the “alt” key throughout the process.
“Order” in a snow scene can be defined as: “Everything in the vertical or near vertical orientation is acceptable” while “Everything in the horizontal or near horizontal orientation is the cause of chaos” but that really only applies to tree limbs and ground clutter.
I advise not removing all horizontal tree limbs, try to leave the ones that add to the scene.
Snow scenes are fairly easy because snow is by nature "“Forgiving of details”.
The blurring of the ice edges needs to be pretty dramatic because the water itself is dramatically blurred and soft and there needs to be continuity between the two in my opinion, a fairly heavy blur with the blur tool in the “Darken” mode is the key in my opinion because the edge of the ice is bright and that brightness needs to be eliminated or close to it. Rather than using the blur tool in the normal mode, then having to go back with a burn tool, just set the mode of the blur tool to “Darken”.
The fine and minute details are what makes the image and that often requires zooming in very close and in some cases “Edit pixel by pixel”.
I was being a little humorous with that statement but I was also being serious.
If this scene was shot without snow, it would be a lot more chaotic but the snow has a way of covering up some of the chaos leaving it peaceful by comparison.
In the example below, I spent about 30 or 40 minutes just cloning out horizontal limbs and ground clutter and from parts of the scene that match, and that’s usually accomplished by cloning very near to the origin of the clone tool.
I also painted the bottom rail on the bridge, (the one that appeared to have been replaced due to rot), it being a different color threw the balance of the architecture of the bridge out of whack and took away from the scene overall in my opinion.
For finishing touches I added some snow to various parts of the scene and that was mostly to balance it out a little more. I left that one area around the tree on the right with some leaves and rocks showing because I thought it added interest to the scene.
Note: I didn’t go as far as I would have gone if it were mine but I thought a decent example was worth the time and effort.
I added a version (after the main edits) with a slight amount of “Diffusion Glow” in Ps just to show that snow scenes like this can benefit from slight and subtle special effect if that’s what you like. Most effects that are done in moderation don’t cause the image to lose that authentic appearance and is still artful (again, as long as it’s not overdone).
If you were merely documenting the scene, then extensive cloning and adding elements like more snow might be questionable but images like this are intended to be our medium to express our artistic side and that to me says: “It’s OK” as long as others here at NPN know what was done.
I say that because NPN is suppose to be a place where we can learn and share techniques.
To me, letting the viewer (other photographers) know what was done is a must!
I always state what I have done no matter what it was.
Trying to pass off a scene without being honest about how it was made or edited is just wrong, I have more admiration for those who state what was really done than I do for some wild story about how it was a virgin shot with only minimal saturation and contrast adjustments.
If it were posted on some social media site where likes are all you’re after, yeah go for it, but not here IMHO.
Not talking about you, Pete. It’s Just my general philosophy.
Having said that, I have seen many images here that were obviously authentic “As Shot” images with very minor edits (if any) that were gorgeous!
I hope this helps you and/or someone else!
I love learning from others and I love sharing what I have learned over the past 40+ years.
The day I stop learning is the day when I become nothing more than a memory 
Original:
Edited Version:
Edited Version with Diffusion Glow:
The transformation of your second and third images is just amazing!
