The ice went out on the Chain Thursday morning with little ceremony and considerable satisfaction, breaking loose on Little Pelican shortly after nine and drifting south in thin, gray plates that looked, from shore, like winter finally leaving because it had been asked often enough.

The official declaration came at 9:17 a.m. from Tim Brevik, who has no formal authority in the matter beyond owning the bait shop window most people use to look at the lake. “I saw open water clear to the point,” Brevik said. “That’s good enough for me and better than most committees.”