Plant Buds

This is a sketch of a bud bud that I saw on a tree. What I thought was so interesting about it was the actual bud itself for a few reasons. 1) It's fall time and most trees are losing its leafs and this one has lost them and seems to have buds ready for the spring. 2) The bud seemed to have a white, fuzzy, fluffy covering to it. Since it had rained earlier, they were all wet and when I squeezed one, it acted like a sponge and water came out. It made me think if maybe they act like sponges to help absorb water to supply the tree with nutrients. 3) The tree looked like it had lost its leaves a while ago, may be even before every other tree. I don't recall seeing a single leaf on it or many on the ground below. Thats stood out to me because many trees still have, if not all, but at least some still on and those that hardly have any, has a mess of the leaves below it. One thing that struck me was if the buds withhold the water for nutrients, what happens in the winter when it freezes? I would think that would damage the bud and whatever it may be doing.

Done