Freeze up 10 days early than normal.

Oct 27th.  5PM.  Story by Bryan
Right where the trail meets the lake there is a water seepage into the lake so when the lake got a thin skin of ice on it around the barge this seepage flows on top of that thin area, constantly flooded it.  When I got there the seepage was 5" thick at the end of the barge.  I got started with the axe breaking the ice and then used one of the 2 x 10 ramps as a pile driver to get the ice away from the barrels.  
There are hundreds of these seepages around the lake.   This is so slow it does not melt the ice but just adds to it, not like a small creek.  
There was an 1 1/2" of ice for 30' out.  The big 9.9 motor on the raft wouldn't start - probably a little bit of water (most likely in the carburetor) which turned to ice.  I took the 4 hr off the boat and put it on the barge and towed the boat.  The barge is being put away for the winter.
Hint for going winter....
Always fill your equipment to the top (Honda pump, skidoos, quads, rototiller, lawnmower.)
The volume of gases increase dramatically with warmth and cold.   Like a 5 gal  partial gas jug with the lid cramped on tight.
Add a good gas stabilizer and park it where the sun doesn't shine.
If you must empty your quad leave the gas tank lid a little loose so it will breath easily.