Narcissus

The Narcissus buds were so promising on February 23.

But on February 24, they were surprised by a spring snow.

It rained and rained, so dark that the camera had to use its flash, and the flowers stayed snug inside their buds...

...which was very smart of them, because on March 9, it snowed again!

March 15...dare we open up?

March 18: Yes! Yes we can!

Handsome Narcissus. Here is the legend-in-a-nutshell, according to Ovid: Narcissus rudely spurned the advances of sweet Echo, the Nymph with the lovely voice. When Nemesis, goddess of Retribution, heard Echo's sad voice she arranged for Narcissus to experience for himself an unattainable love. So he became enamored of his reflection in a deep forest pool, and died of frustration on the bank. A lovely little flower grew in his place, the Narcissus.

There are multiple morals to this tale; here is one: avoid being rude to anyone because, who knows, they may be friends with your nemesis.

A really tortured version of Narcissus, therefore perhaps the most genuine, by Salvador Dali, 1937.

Carravagio's Narcissus, 1645, an early realist; isn't this cool?

Waterhouse's Narcissus, 1912. Can't help it; I love this Pre-Raphaelite/Art Nouveau kind of stuff. And Echo gets to be in it, too, because Waterhouse could not resist a tragic woman. (Note to Echo: Pull up your dress, girl; the boy doesn't care!)