Ash Wednesday

the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter. It can occur as early as February 4 or as late as March 10.  Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. The ashes used are typically gathered after the palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday are burned.

Today is also World Spay Day, highlighting the importance of saving animal lives by spaying or neutering.

Which got us talking about the little dog that wandered into the studio yesterday – (shown here with Jack of all trades, Rob)

He’s about 6 or 7 and not yet “fixed.”  He has a chip but KC was wondering whether neutering was permissible before finding the owner.  The vote was about split for and against.

It is also -

1732: The first U.S. president, George Washington, was born at his parents' plantation in the Virginia Colony.

1956 - Elvis Presley entered the music charts for the first time with "Heartbreak Hotel."

The

was the result of a drunken night of revelry for the man who John Lennon called his favorite American singer (that’s next on 101 gold.) He was a song writer whose work was recorded by The Turtles, Lulu, Rick Nelson, Blood, Sweat and Tears and many others. In fact, Three Dog Night scored a top ten hit with his song, “One.” Oddly enough, his own biggest hit recordings were written by someone else. One night, he was listening to music and throwing back a number of drinks when a particular song struck his fancy. The following day, when he sobered up, he tried to remember the song. At first he thought it was a Beatles song but eventually he realized it was something on a Badfinger album. He thought it had the potential to be a number one song and he was right. On February 22, 1972 it was atop Billboard’s Hot 100 – It’s Nillson “Without You.”