Thanksgiving – The Fairies’ Rufous Song

Each year when we approach the human holiday of Thanksgiving, we have a chat with our nature spirit friends about the concept. The first time we did this, they were confused. A special day to be thankful? Why not be thankful all the time, every day? After our explanation that most mortals, unfortunately, do not operate that way, the Fairies examined their own practices and acknowledged that sometimes there are things they are especially thankful for and we agreed that each year at this time they would share one of those things with us. Here’s their contribution for this year.

The Rufous Song

The song is named for the Rufous Hummingbirds whose brilliant orange plumage enchants the Fairy Woodland woods all summer long against a backdrop of more shades of green than you can imagine. After the birds leave to fly to more sun-drenched habitats for the winter, the plant world begins to take on the rufous color and, as it does, a symphony takes form in Faerie. The maple trees start the song, of course, leaves exploding with their natural color as the nights get longer and colder and the chlorophyll factory slows down.  From deep in the woods the sumac and elderberry voices join in.

The colors of Autumn release music everywhere you look. The low thrumming of pumpkins and carrots sketch out a baseline and the sweet tones of quince float through the gathering symphony, cloaked within more dominant notes just as their brilliant red is hidden within them until coaxed out by slow cooking. Amanita muscaria, in all its crimson glory, pokes its way up through the forest duff and becomes a convenient perch, not for a hookah smoking caterpillar like in Alice in Wonderland but for a six inch banana slug who hums along with the mushroom. Soon all the colors of the forest are drawn into the song. The yellows of the alder leaves, the ever-greens of the firs, the silver-leaved poplars, all weave their distinctive notes into the symphony of autumn, the Rufous Song.

Exuberance and joy are usually associated with the birth and new beginnings of Spring but, thanks to the Rufous Song, fly on the winds of Autumn as well, to fill our hearts in the darkening days. All of nature sings a final rousing chorus of gratitude to the retreating sun and gifts our eyes (and ears, if we learn to listen) with the memory of the colors of fire to hold us through the cold, dark nights to come. The Fairies are thankful for the gift of color the Earth Mother provides at this season, for the song the colors bring to our hearts. They hope that, as you cook and eat pumpkin, cranberries, and winter squash, that you will remember the Rufous Song and let it warm your heart.

We at Fairy Woodland are thankful for all of you, who continue to walk with the Fairies and keep them alive in your hearts and your imagination.

Bright Blessings.

–Bridget Wolfe

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