Country diary: This snow-heavy tree is crackling with invisible birds | Paul Evans

The Marches, Shropshire: The fields have turned white and the fieldfares have arrived, with their Nordic dialects and a hunger for berriesI had to cut my way out of the garden this morning. Last night’s snow, a dollop of wet confection, was too heavy for a liquidambar, full of leaf in glorious gold, red and purple. Branches snapped and folded into an impenetrable tangle: a drastic winter pruning and a reminder of how vulnerable trees are to sudden snowfall.The flakes were more dove th