Montreal comes alive as the summer season suddenly blooms. For a city with really only two seasons, the sudden arrival of summer is a welcome turning point. Terraces open and festivals fill the streets.

But it seems we still can't escape the snow. 

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Summer, of course, means that the desolate winter city quickly becomes a verdant paradise. But what the hell is all that white s*** floating around??

Yesterday while I was bixi-ing around Parc Jean-Drapeau with friends, an unwelcome barrage of white fluffs continuously blinded me. Some of those little puffs even landed in my mouth and that was thoroughly unpleasant.

Last Friday, I happened to open my apartment door just as a gust of wind blew hundreds of fluffy f***ers my way. Three days later, I'm still finding the poofy intruders in every corner of my living space.

Anecdotally, I've heard that this has been one of the fluffiest Junes in recent memory.

So just what is this "summer snow"?

The flying poofs are the seeds of the eastern cottonwood tree. This type of poplar releases its annoying spawn every June. This source explains that there are four million seeds in every pound of the fluffy stuff.

Until the rains washes away the seeds, we might as well get creative. Has anyone tried to make yarn of the seeds? How about a summer snowball fight?

I hope it disappears soon. Winter is a distant memory and I prefer not to be reminded of it...