Grasshoppers are NO LONGER cool

According to the Wall Street Journal, federal officials have estimated the largest grasshopper "outbreak" since 1985 to hit the West this year. Apparently, in 85' they ate everything in sight, including "fence posts and paint off of barns"! Last summer, in Wyoming, grasshoppers ate every blade of grass on 10,000 ranch acres. They estimate about 60 grasshoppers per sq yard in the high population areas for this coming year! WHAT!?

When I was a child, I used to LOVE playing with grasshoppers. They were flighty creatures with big delightful eyes and an amazing hopping ability. I noticed that they hop 20X their body length, and I thought the "tobacco juice" they produced was quite "COOL." I enjoyed watching as well as chasing them. They made tasty treats for the catfish in my grandpa's pond.

But, as with most things as I get older, my perceptions are changing. What was curiosity with the BUGS has turned to distaste for them completely. Now, I tend to see these armored locusts as creepy, bulging eyed, sticky-legged, noisy nuisances that eat my precious blooming flowerbed and fly unexpected into my face or hair. They spit brown GOO out of their mouths...eww. Disgusting!!

Officially, they are NO LONGER COOL!