Went for my first paddle of the year
I did the Chicago river paddle today.  It’s a park district sponsored event with school bus shuttle.   A well run event down a large creek and today it had a nice current.  Took a couple of hours of paddling. The Ice buildup on the paddle and sides of the boat was surprising.  The wind was blowing and was a problem at the put in but after that it was not a problem. There were many volunteers and always some one willing to help.  I saw some volunteers practicing a rescue with a sheepish look on their face as they dragged the canoe full of water up on shore.  I saw one mink running down the shore and no other wild life.   The shuttle worked well with little waiting.  It was a well run event.
MagicPaddler

With the recent warm up and rain there was no ice on the river.  The landings were a little icy but not bad.  It was cold enough that the shaft of the paddle had a ¼ inch of ice on it. Where water had splashed on my pants and jacket it was ice. There was about 3/8 inch of ice where the paddle dripped on the deck.  The plastic in my paddle shrank more than the shaft and came loose on one side.  Now that is some serious cold water shrinkage.  I took some photos when I put in and then put the camera away.  I thought about getting it out one other time but did not want to take my gloves off.
Note the canoe load hanging on the wall in the center photo.  They had 4 inches of freeboard.
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Our paddling in MN is all whitewater.

Didn't know you were there, MP - would have found you and said Hi!
We saw some woodpeckers and ducks, that was about it for wildlife. But it was an excellent day! Well-organized event too, first time I'd done it.

(The guy in the purple yak has some serious paddling skills.)