Hailish Weather

Last week we had some freaky weather.  This was only the second time I've heard thunder in England since we moved here 16 months ago.  It seems Texas doesn't have a monopoly on changeable weather.  One minute it was sunny, then the next it was cloudy punctuated by claps of thunder.  All of a sudden, this frozen stuff started falling from the sky.

At first it looked like your average pea to marble sized hail.  But then it began to resemble Sonic ice.  Mmm, Sonic - I'd love to get my hands on a large cherry limeade.

It was falling so quickly that it accumulated on the grass.  However, the hail didn't last more than a minute or so on the flagstones of the back patio which had been warmed up by weak sunbeams earlier in the day.

The beast had a fabulous time snuffling through the hail strewn grass in our back yard.  

But alas, it didn't take long for the frozen bits to melt and the spring sun to reappear, even while a bit of errant rain was still falling.  It reminded me of that silly little southern saying we always applied to the combination of rain with the sunshine... the devil beating his wife.  Here in the UK this same phenomenon is called a monkey's birthday.  Call me prejudiced, but I don't think the local version is quite as catchy as the one we have in the US.