Winter is a beautiful season. With the first frost coming, grass, trees and shrubs get covered with hoarfrost. And then snow falls. All the trees put on beautiful white robes. Lakes and small rivers freeze. Gradually their first layer of ice grows thicker. Days get shorter, and nights get longer and colder. The weather can be really harsh, when the temperature goes well below zero, sometimes it drops to -20 °C. Winter nature is quiet and silent. In a winter forest all you can hear is chirping of birds, and snow crunching under your boots. Snow falls gently to the ground in large flakes. Sometimes the weather changes, strong winds bring blizzards and snowstorms. In the morning you can see people hurrying to work and trying not to slip on icy pavements. But children are happy: they gladly slide on the ice, and after school they go skiing, skating and sledding. In yards and parks, adults and children make snowmen, build snow fortresses and have snowball fights. I love winter.