Seeds of spring in January

Always looking for the glow of life in a winter woods!

Oh no, please not snow!

But it sure looks like it.  It could happen, has been known to happen, for instance, during the Memorial Day Parade.   However, when you take a moment for a close look, you find you are in the presence of the Eastern Cottonwood whose seeds in their snow-like strands are floating in the breeze during the day and in early morning are settled on the ground.

Potential

As a result of Willow's wanderings in the milkweed patch in the meadow, the two of us discovered the wonderful inside from one of the empty pods still standing.  Its form is so interesting, the soft white silk and the hard brown seeds which remind me of a cone from an evergreen.  How I wish I had studied a little more biology rather than running from any biology course after the mandatory frog dissection in high school!
In trying to learn more about this plant that I associate with attracting Monarch butterflies, I found an article from the Christian Science Monitor, October, 2008, entitled The Heroic Milkweed.  During World War II even children were involved in collecting the milkweed floss for use as a substitute for kapok in life jackets.  Japanese control of Java had cut off the supply.  And the fairgrounds in Petoskey, Michigan, became a drying and processing site for the silky floss.  Read more: http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Gardening/2008/1026/the-heroic-milkweed