Too Many Butterflies

There are an awful lot of butterflies out this year.  I don’t have any scientific proof for this.  I’m just judging by the numbers that are smashing themselves against my windshield at 75 mph.  They are so big that I can see them coming.  I end up doing this weird head bob, gyration thing as if I could somehow steer them into missing.  If someone in a car passing beside me at that moment were to look over and see my little butterfly dance, they’d be sure to think I’m whacked.

I really hate it when butterflies hit the windshield.  I mean they do tend spread pretty colors around the glass with all their guts.  Even though they are colorful smears, they’re pretty big and really make a mess when the wipers spread them around.  Sometimes they pass by at a near miss and don’t make a mess in my field of view.  

The trouble is that they are big enough that I can often see them in the rearview mirror after they pass by.  I’ll see them fall straight down into the pavement behind me.  Sometimes I’ll even see the wings flap.  As a former aviator, I know those steep impact crashes aren’t going to be walked away from.  It’s depressing.

And then there’s the scraping them off the windshield at the gas station.  There’s nothing worse then pulling up to tank up and find the station doesn’t have any of those little squeegee things.  Unless it’s reaching for one only to find they are all drier than my yard after two weeks with no rain. (I’ve heard they make this thing called a sprinkler…)

How are you supposed clean off the butterfly guts with a dry bones squeegee?  And there’s no way you can get the job done with a little Windex and a paper towel when you get home.

Bottom line is there are just too many butterflies this year.