I have a new lodger.

For these 3-4 weeks, a black cat has been staying in my back garden almost all day. There used to be a black cat called "Snowy" in my neighbourhood, who had been owned by an English girl and then by a Latvian family, and then she used to visit the Polish couple's house for food. But they are not the same cat. This new one in my garden is younger, I think.

I usually find this cat lying under or beside our hedge. Initially it looked rather nervous to see me.  But it seems more relaxing now, after seeing me placing a plastic container filled with water on the concrete path. (I usually have such a water-filled container for cats, and change the water often in summer, because there are no ponds or little streams where stray cats can regularly drink water. I don't feed food or milk, because I don't want to be an owner. Wild animals don't need us as their patronising masters. They should be as independent as we are, and they shouldn't need our help unless they are facing man-made difficulties.)

Anyway, it seems that this cat is settling in my garden, and I don't mind about it. It won't be my cat, but I've started feeling wee bit attached to it now. I'm thinking how to call it... The coat is rather rough-looking and black, and the green eyes are very beautiful.