We have something similar here in the hinterlands of BC altho I've never seen the seeds knee deep. We have them growing at the edge of our rural road. They have been described as dandelions on steroids! It's Western Goat's-Beard (Tragopogon dubius) and is on the invasive plant list for BC. Also called Western Salsify. I pull them whenever I find them when they are small. It's a losing battle tho, there are more weeds than I could ever pull on our acreage.

Here is a link that might be useful: Western Goat's-Beard

I pick the odd one just when it is fully opened and spray it with hairspray. It'll keep in a bud vaes with maybe a few dried grasses for over a year if you want it too. Tuff to dust so I just replace it.

yikes, it certainly does look like Western Goats Beard and it sounds like the weed from hell! I'm wondering if it has been introduced to that area recently or is it just a bumper year for weeds. Several native Calgarians have said they've never seen such a thing - the spores are literally everywhere!!!!

We have western goat's beard all over Calgary. I didn't know what it was called, but after looking, I've seen it all over in allleys and such.