A Strange Life

Question: My stem's planted firmly where I am allotted.
My tail is wavy and my face is quite blotted.
I relay much emotion though flatly I'm spotted,
And I grow half my size whenever I'm dotted.
I can speak any language, yet utter no words.
I'm no seed, yet I am well known among birds.

But I do have a speech impediment:
I can say cage but not page, aged but not wage.
I can say deaf but not red, bed but not sled.

I live on a highway that's structurally sound,
Where you might see my friends accidentally bound.
It has many lanes, and also long lines.
There are lots of sharp turns, but plenty of signs.

I am played but not won, made but not spun.
The key is to measure before you've begun.

What am I?

Question: Look at my face, I am somebody. look at my back, i am nobody. What am I?

Question: What tastes better than it smells?

Question: What goes in the water black and comes out red?

Question: What asks but never answers?

Question: Resurrected, they descend by the millions. Sometimes, to nourish and give life. Other times, to take lives or destroy. They have been known to fill entire valleys and block roads only to disappear before executing their long journey back to the top. What are they?