It only looks soft and harmless. But snow is hard. And slippery. Walking on it is difficult. It's pretty. It's beautiful to see vast expanses of surface covered with snow. White with snow. I hate the tyre marks in the snow it spoils the beauty. It dirties the snow. They make long ugly furrows. But i love footprints in the snow. They tell you where someone has gone. My footprints. Deep, pressing the snow to opaque glass. While the fresh snow winks in the occasional ray of sunlight, the ice looks used. It gets muddy and slippery. People practise running in the sand. Good exercise! I can hear those words spoken. But you know what? The snow is more tiresome. Walk without slipping. It seems to pull you down. Sand. It's softer, its doesn't change shape. Sand, sand on the beaches that i know.