Looks like snow - but isn't

We woke up to snow this morning - cottonwood snow. It's really heavy this year, I haven't ever seen quite so much accumulate:

The drifts were a couple of inches deep in our yard:

The cottony fluff gathered on our new rose bushes. Here it is on one of our Princesse de Monaco roses:

It's hard to see it against the soft, bright whiteness of our Honor rose:

It's a good thing the snow isn't real, or these strawberries would be in trouble:

The cottonwood, which is actually in the park next door, still has plenty more where that came from - it's loaded with fluff:

The downy seeds spread out with every breeze:

Our floribunda Gene Boerner isn't immune:

I love the velvety pink of the Gene Boerner:

The flowers are so pretty, even surrounded by cotton fluff:

Here's a bit nestled between the petals of an Honor bloom:

And, of course, our geranium has been catching its fair share of the cottonwood's excess:

I've been out trimming hedges today and I'm covered with the stuff, too.

The Tudor Rose

In England, one sees depictions of the Tudor Rose in many places. This wild rose, reminiscent of those depictions, grew along a footpath surrounding the ruins of Kenilworth castle:


Some decorative stonework found at Windsor Castle:


A depiction, again by the ruins of Kenilworth:

On a sign denoting the rating of a very good bed and breakfast in Lacock:

On a shield among the atmospheric decorations at Warwick Castle: