I've finally (after 12 years!) bought a patio set. This one's Italian, made of metal, so it should survive the environment quite well. It seems to be coated with some protective coating, too. I didn't think to buy an umbrella. Oh well, another shopping expedition is in the works.
The nandinas, which appear like a restrained form of bamboo, have been in flower. The flowers are quite tiny, perhaps 5mm across. They are the yellow bits (that's a technical term) in the image!
It's a beautiful sunny day, as is often the case at this time of the year. Statistically this is the driest time of the year, meaning that it is least likely to rain now. Indeed, we've had not a drop of rain for over two weeks, and the ground has really dried out. This is a view looking slightly south of west from the back of my home. We received notification a little while ago that some of the trees to the left of the image are to be demolished, and a new sub division is going in - another 35 new homes in the area. I can't see many of the trees from here, but drive past them on one of the ways out. However, I'd rather see denser housing here than to move out into the country and take over farming land.
This is the view looking slightly south of east from the back patio. It's wonderful to see all those trees. These are on private property; should the owners decide to cash in and subdivide the land, they will mostly (if not all) come down.