A decision to make.

There is a new sport here at Patou; 'Lily watching'.

Lily, as readers will be aware, is our most precious and favourite alpaca. Lily is Angus's alpaca.

She is special to all three of us blah blah blah.

Anyway she has been looking like she is about to give birth for about 5 days. She pees about every ten minutes and then stands there or wanders slowly away holding her tail out as if there is more to come, she is ready but the cria is obviously not.

I can almost see in her face when she sees us watching her that she is saying 'something is happening back there but I don't know what it is '.

This is her first time and she has her mother, Bannock as company. Bannock is due in about two weeks and is as wide as a very wide thing. We quite often see them together approach the poo pile and wee simultaneously, then wander off tails aloft. Apparently this is what Bannock does. Sue remembers from last year, the little minx. Bannock that is not Sue.

Anyway it has created a bit of a dilemma for me. On Saturday I have been invited to, and would very much like to attend, the EPC soiree up near Swindon. However, Sue is working and there will be nobody here to 'Lily watch'. I know we can't spend our entire lives watching and waiting but this is Lily, this is the big one and she is getting very close. I hope that she pops her cria out today. I will have a decision to make early tomorrow morning.