Maya and Nova
For a few weeks in the spring, the brown hills above the Methow Valley come alive with green grass and wildflowers. Yellow Balsamroot is a flashy member of the Aster family and looks like a sunflower. Wide-spread across the western United States, botanist Meriwether Lewis collected a specimen in 1806.
When young, all parts of the plant are edible, no doubt packed with vitamins for a potent spring tonic. The leaves have a slight citrus flavor, and the seeds were an especially valuable source of food and oil for Native American groups.
An annual hike though the balsamroot bloom is de rigueur for Valley residents on a sunny spring day.
And the photos below, taken in May 2016, remind us how quickly little girls become big girls.
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