Country diary: A family friend, queen of the skyline, has toppled | Nic Wilson

Hitchin, Hertfordshire: This magnificent black poplar survived lightning and bracket fungus. Now it's gone - but the story isn't over yetThe jackdaw colony by the Ash Brook is in disarray. Agitated birds circle the field making a chacking ruckus. Something is amiss. I scan what should be a familiar treeline, horrified. I don't want to look down, but I can't help myself. Beneath an inconceivable rift in the sky, a family friend lies prostrate.Even before her fall, the lopsided lady of the brook had seen better days. Her splintered trunk leaned heavily and she had been pruned by lightning - twice. Only one healthy limb survived, branching into life like a phoenix rising above the surrounding ashes. Continue reading...