oil dipstick weirdness
 

What the heck is going on here?
My car is a 96 A6 Quattro Avant, about 185,000kms. overall running quite nicely but does have some persistent oil leaks that I am working on.

Strange thing just recently started happening though...

whenever I first pull the dipstick out, the oil coats the dipstick waaaay up past the full mark - I mean 4 or 5X as high as it should be, even when I pull the dipstick out first thing in the morning before the car is even started.
I wipe it off, stick it back in and it comes out with the oil level registering at the proper level.

How can this be happening?
For the record, I have owned the car almost 1.5 years and oil readings in the morning were normal until 3-4 weeks ago.

Any thoughts on this?

There is nothing wrong with your didpstick/oil level. With the engine off, std procedure using a dipstick is to remove it, wipe it off to remove the excess, and then re-install it to accurately measure the oil level. When the engine is running, oil is splashed around in the crankcase by the crankshaft rotating, which then splashes up and coats the dipstick. That is why you wipe and then measure the oil level.

Same thing here, the pan is very shallow so uneven parking makes a big difference.

Nothing wrong with it, just wipe it off and reinsert.

To be honest, this car's dispstick is one of the most consistent I have ever encountered. My Mercedeses tend to be all over the dipstick, when reinserted after wiping it dry, dependent on the day, temperature, warm or cold engine, etc...