Y'all won't believe this

I saw something shocking today, right in my own backyard. Take a look:

Umm...ignore the bare patches. We're not very good gardeners. Or lawners. Whatever the term is.

A little closer...

Also excuse the patchy blurriness. I took these photos through a wet window.

A little closer...

Can you see it? Those little white balls?

Still not sure?

Ben during his one and only time as a hand model.

That is HAIL.

This may not come as a big shock to anyone currently trudging through seven feet of snow in the USA, but you have to understand: this is Australia. It's late spring/early summer here. We've had our air conditioner running for the last week. It's not very thick or heavy, but hail???

I know that the strange weather is doubtless due to all kinds of freakish environmental problems, but I'm secretly kind of thrilled with it - one of the hardest parts of celebrating Christmas here is that it just doesn't feel like Christmas because of the hot weather (although oddly, stores still decorate with fake snowflakes). I also know that a white Christmas is beyond hope, but this was cool - and I'm feeling pretty happy about the holidays now!