Fluffy Ground Cover

At this time of year in the Seattle area, cottonwood trees release their seeds deposited in downy, cottony puffs that become airborne on the slightest breeze. They swirl around like snowflakes, a little puzzling when you see them for the first time well past winter’s end. In some places, they can accumulate in such quantity that they appear as a light dusting of snow, like these that were caught on blades of grass along the Sammamish River Trail in Redmond.