This 'n' That

We had about three and a half inches of wet snow fall during the first half of Monday - Martin Luther King, Jr Day.  About one in the afternoon, I stepped out onto our balcony and used the dustpan to scoop the wet snow off the railings, and to uncover Penny and Wendell's solar batteries.  Nedi came out, but Lovey decided it was too wet for her little toesies.  This morning there's a think sheet of ice on the balcony floor, but that's all that's left.
   On Saturday, 28 January (my Mom's birthday), the inaugural running of the Pegasus World Cup will take place at Gulfstream Park in Florida.  Twelve people, or racing entities, each put up $1 million to enter a single horse in the race.  It will cover a distance of one and one-eighth miles on the main dirt track.  The names of the horses running were turned in yesterday.  I'm not sure when the draw for post positions will be held, but NBC is covering the race live from 4:30 until 6 p.m. EST.  The twelve declared runners are:  California Chrome; Shaman Ghost; Keen Ice; War Story; Neolithic; Breaking Lucky; Prayer for Relief; War Envoy; Ralis; Noble Bird; Arrogate; and Eragon.
    Well, as usual, I was tracking backwards on my family tree yesterday.  I had started with a woman named Miriam "Mary" Swett, who was born in 1672 and died in 1734.  As it got later, I was (honestly) hoping that her ancestors would disappear...  However, about 10:30 last night, I came upon one of her (and my) ancestors whose name was William de Braose.  He was known as "Black William" Baron of Abergavenny; he was born around 1204 and he died on 2 May 1230.  I had no problem with that.  However, under cause of death, it stated that he, Black Will, had been hanged inside his own castle, Aber Castle, by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth.  Both of these men are my many-times-great-grandfathers....  I decided to stop investigating for the night.  I had already run into an ancestor, who, along with his son-in-law, were killed in battle at Blore Heath, the first battle in the War of the Roses....   Too much history.  (I'm currently reading an excellent account of the years 1775 & 1776 in and around Boston, Massachusetts, from both the English and American point of views.)
    I start taking care of Roxie and Finney today - as well as walking Rosie.  The first two are Brittany Spaniels, and Finney just returned from 4 weeks of Hunting School.  Not that her owners use her for hunting; she just has a huge drive to hunt and point at prey, so it was decided to use her energy in a non-harmful way.  She used to point at squirrels in the yard, and one had to grab her by the collar and pull her away to get her to break the point.  I'll have to see what we'll be doing while the owners are gone...
    I hope you have a great week!