Moss, beautiful moss.

Not my roof.

Moss.  Soft green moss.  Known to us all as "non-vascular plants in the land plant division Bryophyta."

Moss should be the state plant of Washington, although the rhododendron is admittedly more flashy.  Most of my lawn, upon close inspection, is moss.  The vertical surfaces of my front steps are coated with moss.  My car sprouts moss -- resistant to car wash scrubbing -- in every area where water is apt to collect.  The trees have moss on their leeward surfaces -- a compass for the canny hiker.  

A local joke is that you can tell a Northwesterner by the moss between his toes.

And, of course, my roof has moss.  Aye, there's the rub.

It's not really noticeable moss, aside from one small area over the entrance.  My moss looks nothing like the illustration above.  Expensive houses in expensive neighborhoods also have moss -- I was checking the situation out today as I walked through Madison Park.  My moss, by comparison with some, is hardly noticeable.

But my insurer noticed it.  Do something about it, they told me, with the self-confidence that comes from knowing more about what's good for you and for your property than you do yourself.  Do something about it before your policy comes up for renewal, they admonished, not so subtly suggesting reprisals.  Look at it, they say, sending me photos they took of my roof.

Good grief!

Yeah, I know.  Moss isn't good for roofs.  Mainly because it can, as it grows deeper and plusher, shove the shingles up, allowing water to seep in and promote rotting -- rotting of the shingles themselves and of the structural elements underneath.  They're telling me for my own good. And theirs.  

I've contacted three roof specialists to give me estimates.  I'm sure it won't be cheap.  Finding a cheap contractor is like finding a cheap physician -- it makes you wonder.

But it's too bad.  Moss looks cool, just as ivy on your chimney looks cool.  Another no-no.  Moss looks soothing, and reminds one of ancient manses in rural England, perched above a babbling beck.  Cozy.  Places with a history.  Like "The Mill on the Moss."

Oh.  It was the Floss?  Oh well, same difference.  

Soon my roof will be mossless.  But in Seattle, nothing stays mossless for long.  

It'll be back.  You can't keep a good Bryophyta down.