"On the hilltops of my home in upstate , the bare gray branches of the s seem to be traced with a newly sharpened pencil against the winter sky. But in the Willamette Valley, the Oregon s are drawn in thick green crayon. The steady winter rains keep the tree trunks lush and green with moss, while the leaves lie dormant. The mossy sponge drips a constant flow of water to the tree roots, saturating the ground below and filling the soil reservoir for the summer ahead."