Snowball fight in June?! As a result, there are white flakes on the street

In various places in Zoetermeer it seems as if it has snowed. In June! What’s up with that?

iIn the section ‘Zoetermeerse mysteries’ we solve a riddle every week. Like the hidden footpath that was actually a ramp of the A12 or mysterious drops that fall on your head. This week we dive into the next mystery.

In Meerzicht and in De Leyens

Along the Lange Landpad, for example, the verge is full of white flakes, and in Meerzicht along the cycle path at the Balijbrug. It looks like snow, or is it from a huge white dog that has been brushed by its owner?

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Inquiries at the local branch of the IVN (Institute for Nature Education) tell us that these are poplar seeds, van gray abelen. Abels include, for example, the silver poplar, whose branches and buds have white hairs. And in the month of June, this tree releases the white, cottony seed. All this fluff forms mountains along the paths that make it look like there is a layer of snow.

Be careful of any flattened flakes because they can be a bit slippery.