Compared to leaves like the maple or oak, pine needles couldn’t be more unimpressive. Yet these humble creations can keep their green, long after other leaves are becoming compost.

The hearty pine survives where no other trees can, because their needles are designed to stand up to all kinds of privation. Since they’re long and thin, snow can’t weigh them down. Since they contain little sap, they don’t freeze. And the groove along the bottom of each needle insulates the pores through which the pine draws breath.

That’s why, from a mountain’s barren peaks, the first trees we encounter are the pines. In the near drought conditions of high altitudes, pine needles live full and productive lives for as long as seven years. It’s a tough life out there for all of us. But we’ve been designed to take whatever this life throws at us, because we’re destined to outlive it.