Very few mosquitoes on the island, there is usually a breeze as this is one of the best freshwater sailing areas in North America and except for that reedy section in the background of the pic it is all flowing water from the Great Lakes heading to the Atlantic. In the winter there is a bubbler system that keeps the ferry lanes open, they are both cable ferries so the route is constant.

The river does freeze over but because the water is always moving it usually only gets thick for about a month or so. This pic was taken on March 1st this year, a long winter but not too bitter, the swans even stuck around for the whole winter, they usually go to open water in February.

I'm semi retired so I am flexible as to what I do and when I do it. Islanders get a special yearly pass for a couple hundred bucks per vehicle and I buy a book of 'friends and family' tickets for guests. Regular fare is $6 round trip.

@nicknotes Nope, don't read the paper but it is delivered daily for those who imbibe that stuff. 500 or so year round residents and in the summer it swells to 3 times that number.
Islanders are a different breed, if I am out of something then I just call around until I find someone who is on the mainland and ask them to pick it up for me or I borrow it from another islander who has it and then replace it, the same applies if someone calls me or asks to borrow something, whatever it might be. This is my 5th island so it becomes a bit of a lifestyle choice, everybody waves to each other, even if you don't know or even like that person because in the end, they are an islander and islanders stick together.