A Shipment From Acme

This isn't the greatest of pictures, but do you know what that bird is.?I took this shot through the slats of my neighbor's rail fence. I tried to get a better picture, but the sucker wouldn't stop running, so here is a better photo for your inspection, but not one I personally took.
I'm sure some of you can identify this creature, but maybe it is new to a few of you who have not traveled, or lived in the west. If indeed this isn't an animal you recognize then I am going to bust your bubble.

This bird does run rather fast.
This bird is not however, blue.
This bird does live in arid places.
This bird is not anywhere near as big as a coyote.
This bird does make a noise.
That noise is not Beep-Beep.

This bird is in fact a genuine roadrunner and bares very little resemblance to the cartoon character that plagued Wile E. Coyote all those Saturday mornings of your youth.

They are great birds to have around as they love to dine on ticks, snakes and lizards. Lizards I got no beef with and snakes I can tolerate as long as they leave me alone, but ticks are just plain nasty and while I appreciate nearly every aspect of nature and the balance it takes to survive, it wouldn't hurt my feelings if a bit of Darwinism kicked in and ticks were not among the fittest.

No this did not have a point except I saw this roadrunner dashing around the other day and I happened to have my camera. Lana Gramlich posts many a great nature shot from her regular hikes as does her husband Charles, though not as often. Inspired by them I have decided to try and capture a bit more of my world to share with y'all.

Remember my post a few days back about the liars reality show? Well, Erica Orloff brought it to my attention that there is a new reality show in which people win money by telling the truth. My understanding is that the contestants are hooked up to a lie detector and they are awarded money for every truthful answer. Of course they put the player on the spot by asking them questions like, Would you cheat on your spouse if you knew there was no way you'd get caught? Of course the man's wife is right there so he'd better say no. Sure he might lose out on some money if he's lying, but he just might save himself some attorneys fee's. And if he said yes and won more money chances are his wife would get half plus he'd have to fork over more cash for alimony, child support and what not. Unless he really is a faithful husband in which case he has nothing to worry about.

Anyway I told Erica that the biggest difference in that show and my idea is that they are rewarding honesty where I wanted to find the most skilled liar. I envisioned a show where the best liar got to stick around and ultimately claim the top prize. Then it hit me we already have these kind of contests. Most people call them elections.