What do E. B. White, a blue Subaru, a tiny fairy fly and an event focused on joy have in common? You might be surprised!

Before concluding I’m crazy, keep in mind that I’m actually in good company. American essayist, humorist, poet and award-winning author E.B. White, recipient of the 1971 National Medal for Literature and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, wrote the now-famous 1936 New Yorker essay titled “Farewell, My Lovely” in tribute to the secondhand Model T Ford, fondly nicknamed “Hotspur,” that he and his friend, Howard Cushman obtained for the purpose of trekking across America with typewriters in tow in 1922. 

White also wrote the iconic children’s classic, “Charlotte’s Web,” in which one of the main characters is an arachnid, a very special spider beloved by children and adults around the world. 

Right now, in the Upper Delaware River region, an interesting insect described as “a wonderment” (yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu/encyclopedia/woolly-alder-aphid) is flitting around in our forests, drifting like a tiny tuft of cotton tinged with blue, sometimes mistaken for downy milkweed seed. A species of woolly aphid, the bug’s cottony appearance is actually due to waxy strands produced by glands protruding from the bug’s butt.

The endearing insect has been awarded delightful nicknames like flying fairies, fairy fluff, cotton fairies and my personal favorite—blue fuzzy-butts. I first noticed these fascinating fluffs a few years ago when one drifted past, powered by miniscule wings. I have not succeeded (yet!) in capturing a decent photo, for fairies are fairly shy and this type is truly tiny. Visit  www.natureofthings.blog/2025/10/11/flying-tutus to learn more and to see fetching photos.

But what does this have to do with a blue Subaru? I recently had to replace my cherished “Green Fairy” Ford Fiesta—a bright green five-speed that delivered 40 mpg, handled with the precision of a compact race car and dosed me with delight-inducing music, thanks to an amazing sound system. She and I shared many a joyful mile, relishing the natural wonders of the Upper Delaware River region since we joined forces 15 years ago. 

But even fairies don’t last forever, and her wings began to fail. Enter a 2023 Subaru Crosstrek whose coloration seems similar to that of the fairy-like blue fuzzy-butt. Just like that, my new ride got its name.

Now what can we conclude from all this? That some of us connect with our cars more deeply than others, celebrating their gifts, acknowledging their sometimes aggravating ways and giving them names that deepen our bonds (you know who you are). 

Which brings us full circle to joy—that difficult-to-describe but fantastic-to-experience energetic force that funds our lives and drives despair away, one well-named fairy bug or special set of wheels at a time. In the spirit of increasing our capacity for joy, please join me for the event detailed in the photo caption in this column.