1. Spring.

There are four seasons in a year. And when speaking about them people usually begin with spring. Spring months are March, April and May. Though in our places spring begins in the middle of March and sometimes even at the end. Everything awakes from its winter sleep.

The nights become shorter and the days become longer. Usually in spring the sky is clear and bright blue. Though there are days when the sky is cast with low grey clouds. In March it's rather cold. It still often snows. But once you notice that the snow begins gradually sink down and becomes dark. And soon it begins to melt. In the middle of April there are only patches of snow, mainly in forests. There are streams everywhere. Lakes, ponds become free from ice and one can watch ice drifting on the rivers. The sun shines brightly and it is warm. Sometimes the temperature rises up to 15-20 degrees above zero.

At the beginning of May we can see the first green grass in the fields and meadows and small gentle green leaves and buds on trees and bushes. The first wild flowers appear – snowdrops (подснежники), primroses (примулы), forget-me-nots (незабудки), lilies of the valley (ландыши), and violets (фиалки). Birds come back from far-away countries to make nests, to lay the eggs and to hatch their younglings (птенцов). They sing their songs and twitter among the trees. In May people begin to work in fields and gardens. The farmers plough and sow seeds. The gardeners are busy in their gardens and orchards digging the ground, making future flowerbeds, and sowing young trees and bushes and flowers.

But the weather is very changeable in spring. The light breeze becomes chilly wind, and a small cloud can bring rain or even snow. But in an hour the weather turns for the better and again the sun shines in the bright blue sky.

At the end of May trees, bushes are in bloom. Meadows look like a multicoloured carpet because of a plenty flowers. And at last, we can watch the first thunderstorm.

I like spring, though it's not my favourite season. I don't like slush and mud, but I enjoy warm days after cold winter…

2. Summer.

In June summer sets in. July and August are also summer months. The days are the longest and the nights are the shortest. The sun rises early and sets late in the evening. The foliage of the trees and bushes becomes bright green and dense (густая). There are a lot of different flowers everywhere. I think, every summer month has its own flower: June – daffodil (нарциссы) and dandelion (одуванчики); July – cornflower (василек); August – dahlia (георгин). Usually the weather in summer is warm and hot. The sun shines brightly and the sky is cloudless.

There are days when it is stuffy, the air is still and there is even no light breeze. And then, the sky turns dark-blue, a strong wind bends trees and you can't go straight. You begin to understand that a thunderstorm is coming. Terrifying peals of thunder break the stillness of the air just over your heads frightening us. Flashes of lightning dazzle us and then a rain crashes upon us. After it there are a lot of puddles that disappear very quickly. But children have enough time to splash through the warm water of puddles and mud. Sometimes there are rains with hail – a real disaster for farmers. I like summer showers, short and strong. After them the nature seems to be well-washed. But when it is drizzling you know that after such rains there are a lot of mushrooms in the forests. You take your basket and go to the forest for a "quiet hunting" – mushrooming and picking berries.

But sometimes there is no rain at all for a long time. Everything gets dry and a thick layer of dust covers trees, bushes and grass. The flowers begin to fade (вянуть), the sky is colourless and the sun burns merciless. It's drought. It's so hot and stuffy that all clothes stick to the skin.

But in spite of all annoying moments of summer, such as flies (a fly – муха), swarms of mosquitoes, dust, heat and so on, I like summer best of all. There is a lot of fun! Fishing at the daybreak is one of them. Or you can go boating or swim, raft down the river or simply lie in the sun being a lazy-bone. We, Russians, are very inventive in the ways to relax. And it's very pleasant, being in the countryside, to spend our evening by the fire, singing songs, laughing, joking and feeding mosquitoes. And it's so interesting to watch a starry) night trying to find familiar constellations.

In August there is a hard time for farmers and gardeners. The hot sun ripens corn, fruit and vegetables. It's time for a harvest. August comes to the end and we notice that the days become shorter and it's not so warm as it was in July.