Boughs of diamonds...

There is one thing about freezing rain that I can appreciate....that is it's artistic beauty. I was outside with Sadie a little while ago and happened to look up toward the streetlight. I instantly was mesmerized by the appearance of the evergreen boughs moving gently in the night breeze. They were outlined with a crystal glow that could only come from the layer of ice that covered every evergreen needle. I looked down the block and saw yard after yard of glittering stars covering the grass. The bushes in my front flowerbeds looked as if they had been dipped in diamonds. Everything sparkled so prettily in the streetlights. Next I heard a strange sound...rather like a hundred sticks being stepped on at the same time. It took me a moment but I realized that was the sound of cracking ice as the trees moved in the breeze. I'd never heard that before, or maybe I had never paid enough attention to notice. Of course, once I started noticing these things I took delight in noticing so many other things. The glossy layer of ice covering the flower bed edgings, the 1/4 inch of ice covering my house sign, the frozen drips caught in time along the trellis and off of the gutters of my porch. There's something magical about a winter night...everything is so still and crisp. The air almost has a purity to it that refreshes you as the coldest water on a summer day cannot. A summer night brings to mind relaxation, but the winter night brings the renewal of a healing sleep.