Reading your own comments this photo would meet the challenge to me. But because those aren't visible during voting many didn't get the connection. Maybe a different title than the one you had as Beauty in Ice doesn't convey despair. I can't think of another title that may worked though. This is a nice macro shot of the Dogwood bud. There is some noise pixelation in the photo. If you can, try a program like Neatimage to clean it up a bit. Sorry that this didn't do better and I hope you'll still participate in future challenges.
Oh man, this is so far over my head I have NO idea what you were going for in the Dispair catagory. It's a kinda neat shot of the ice, but ..... 4 Swash