How do you write a nature column when the world has started a new war? As Putin continued to bomb Ukraine, I walked out into a beautiful early spring day. I had no idea where I was going. Finding myself on the bridleway, I lifted my gaze from the ground. High above, the sky was as blue as the Ukrainian flag; closer at hand, a birch was showing its spring buds. All at once I realised that I’d reached my destination. I planted this tree with my son when he was small enough to ride on my shoulders, and now it arced above me like a fountain.