Another Ice Photo (extra pics posted)

I am a little torn on this and am looking for some feedback. Which I can always count on here. Does this one work for any of you?

There is nothing particularly compelling about the shot. The pattern of icicles on their own do not make much of a statement and the out-of-focus tree in back provides neither drama, contrast or an interesting juxtaposition images.

I really like this shot. The only minor thing I could say is that the cloud on the upper left side in the background is a bit distracting from the tree and icicles. My eyes keep wandering over there to see what that out-focus white patch is. I wonder what it would look like with a majority of that cropped out? Beautiful light and details on the icicles!

The icicles are really lovely, but I think they fight with the tree too much and would be better isolated against a less busy BG. Just my 2 cents.

Dominic, this one isn't floating my boat. Too many competing elements. I will say it's been awhile since I've seen icicles like this.

You have all reinforced what I have been feeling about this shot. I didn't want to bias it my stating my concerns up front. Thanks for your honest feedback; it has been helpful.. Since you all seem to like the icicles, here's one I think you'll like better. The long icicle is over 30 inches long!

And here's another one! Is the HDR effect on this one too severe?

The second one is simple, clean and effective. I like the added dimension of the curving trusses but might be tempted to crop the bottom to the roof line. Both are nice.

I remember as a kid loving to break these off the house and lick them. I may have to do that again some day!