Aforce that pulls water up slowing its downward movement

The right action is capillarity (or capillary force).

Capillarity is the interaction phenomenon that occurs at the interfaces between two immiscible liquids, between a liquid and air or between a liquid and a surface. It is due to the forces of surface tension between the different phases in the presence. It is used when the blotters suck the ink, the sponges soak with water, or when we dip some of its sugar in its coffee and that sugar becomes all black.

and after water is usually warmed by the sun the water temperature raises and then evaporates .