First paddle of the season

Two weekends ago, I went for my first outdoor paddle of this summer with Coffee Duck and our friend Badger Dog. Badger Dog likes to canoe, but Ducky and I prefer kayaks. Fortunately, there is no rule saying our boats all have to match.

It was my first time paddling when there was still ice on moving water. And of course, I have to specify "moving water" because last year at the same time (May 5th for both), I did paddle on still water that had ice on it:

There was considerably less ice on the moving water this year than on the lake last year, as you can see.

There were big floating ice platforms, some ten feet or so across, and Ducky and I enjoyed getting up some speed and grounding ourselves on the ice, sliding across to the other side. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good pictures of that particular piece of fun. I did get a picture of the weird ice formation on one of the smaller chunks, though.

That water just looks so nasty, though...