Follow the Leader

We have lush green grass growing in areas where the foliage is usually golden for most of the year. We have also had an enormous amount of rain over the last two days. The rivers and streams are all up in flood and everything is very soggy.
The situation here in Marlborough is certainly not as dire as in other parts of the South Island.
This flock of Corridale ewes is on the lower slopes of the hills of the Wither Hills Farm Park. I don't know where the leaders are heading to in this image but they are in an excellent area for giving birth with plenty of trees and shrubs for shelter.
There are 300 ewes in the flock and as can be seen here, they have been "pre-lamb shorn". It may seem a little harsh to rid them of their thick fleeces in mid-winter and with snow predicted in the hill country over the next few days. But there are good reasons to shear them at this stage of their pregnancies. They are not shorn right down to their skins. About 3 to 4 mm of wool is left on them and this albeit seemingly thin cover contains lanolin which gives a degree of water-proofness. The rain will run off and if the girls start to feel the cold then they will find shelter in the trees and undergrowth very quickly.
I noticed that some of the girls had green spots sprayed on their noses. They were the ones with the fatter bellies. I checked with the farmer and I had guessed right ...they are the ewes carrying twins...or more.
So this flock will begin to have their babies after the 6th of July. That is not far off now and I know I will be in the area with the camera in order to capture some endearing photos of little lambs.