Freezing Rain in a New Light

The weather remains cold and the ice from the past two day's freezing rain still lingers. Today as I was lamenting the sun no longer hitting the house, I looked up to see the ice coated firs sparkling as if crowned with diamonds.

Freezing rain does have it's pluses. I wish I could capture the crystal brilliance. I tried with several settings and a couple of lenses

 My favorite image.

After I put my camera away, I took the dogs for a rig run out the drive. We came back totally soaked from the constant shower of ice particles. Along the route I had to clear numerous branches that had broken off and fallen under the weight of the ice. No power and an impassible road, some of the minuses of freezing rain. How do you weigh Nature's beauty against inconvenience? Guess it has to do with how dry and warm you are.