Pretty day today, got hot like a summertime afternoon. Lots of pretty puffy clouds in the blue sky. The clouds had bleached edges, so white in the sun, but held patches of rain in their gray middles. Lots of birds today. The cardinals and the grosbeaks are still fighting over the bird feeders. They hiss and peck at each other. The blue jays finally paid my yard a visit. A pair sat on the bird bath and drank and stayed a while to watch all the other birds’ antics. They eat occasionally at feeders but they love peanuts the most. Guess I’ll buy them some peanuts on my next grocery spree.

Blue jays are said to be highly intelligent and are problem solvers. I read that they will scream like a hawk to scatter birds off bird feeders. Good watch dogs in the forest, too, screaming when intruders come. I learned a new fact today about them — they will eat young birds or eggs from other birds’ nests. I didn’t realize how big they were till I watched them on the bird bath. When God painted their feathers he painted the males and females the same. Kinda neat to know that they don’t have any blue pigment in their feathers. The refracted sunlight makes them appear blue.

Have a little flock of six chickadees that are visiting the yard and feeders together. Haven’t seen the indigo bunting in a few days. Hope he comes back with a flock of friends. Saw a large red headed woodpecker walking up the power pole across the street. He’s four times as big as the little downy woodpeckers.

Was sitting in the swing pondering with an old Southern Living, trying to convince myself that I was not hot and did not need a fan on the porch, when I came across a Rick Bragg column about his grandmother’s purse. I loved the column. He described his grandmother’s purse as a “great warehouse…endless expanses stacked clear to the ceiling with all the treasures of this world — but also with a bunch of hairpins and some Tums.” Course I started thinking about my grandmothers’ purses and what my grandchildren might find in my purse.

My grandmother, Margaret Lane, always had a real linen handkerchief in her purse. Sadly, that’s all I remember. I can see her opening the purse at church to get her money out for the offering plate but I don’t know the contents. Probably some peppermints, car keys, and a billfold. She always had the almost square small black purse with a short handle and a little gold snap on the top. Can’t remember even seeing my grandmother, Doris McMurray’s, purse. But I bet it had some candy in it!

Made a list of what’s in my purse tonight, in case my grandchildren ask me one day — billfold, car keys, 2 packs of Doublemint chewing gum, a pocket knife, two ink pens, cough drops, a peppermint stick, ibuprofen, stamps, post it notes, one of Chief’s handkerchiefs, hand sanitizer, two Amazon gift cards, bandaids, pocket tape measurer, small magnifying eye glass, alka seltzer, a chap stick, a lip stick, an address book, a cell phone, and a folded paper with all my cell phone contact numbers. And the bottom of the purse is covered in change. Always drop my change in my purse and occasionally take it out and put it in my change jars — one for pennies and one for quarters, dimes, and nickels. It’s amazing I can pick it up!

Bragg went on to write that if he asked his grandmother for a crescent wrench she would bring the wrench out of her purse with a honey bun, a portable record player, and a 3 cent stamp. Sounds like my purse could fit in that category. As he grew older he realized his grandmother mostly provided candy and chewing gum for him from her purse. Same for me, peppermints at church from Big Ma out of her hand bag, as she called it.

Purses were first carried by men 5000 years ago to hold their silver and gold coins. Lots of men carry what’s called a man purse now. Designed like a messenger bag with multiple pockets for laptops, tablets, cell phones and document organization, with a shoulder strap to keep it out of the way. Read somewhere that a well dressed gentleman should have a man purse. Gonna find out what they carry in their purses!

Rosie loved a purse. When she was a toddler she’d prance around in her panties with my high heels on her feet and a large purse on her arm. That purse would be crammed full of all her treasures.

“Of all the wonders of the earth, nothing surpasses a well-stocked purse.” — Rick Bragg