Yellow-Rumped Warblers and Yo-Yos - Blogging from A to Z Challenge

This year for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, I'm focusing on going through my homeschooling files that I've created from the time that Sophia and Olivia were in preschool.

Some of the files are still relevant while others I will be decluttering and recycling in the process. Each day during April, I will pick one of the files to focus on - either doing a hands-on activity or sharing some information from one of the files.

For the 25th day - Letter Y - I am focusing on Yellow-Rumped Warblers and Yo-Yos.

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Yellow-Rumped Warbler

- Yellow-Rumped Warblers forage in the outer tree canopies at middle heights. They often will catch insects in midair. In winter they spend lots of time eating berries from shrubs.
- The birds often travel in large flocks.

(Taken on April 30, 2008.)

Females build the nest, sometimes using material the male carries to her. The nest is a cup of pine needles, twigs, grasses, and rootlets. She also may use horse, deer, and moose hair, moss, and lichens.

She lines the nest with fine hair and feathers; and does so in the way that they curl up and over the eggs.

The nest takes about ten days to build. It's roughly 3-4 inches across and 2 inches tall when finished.

Yellow-Rumped Warblers cling to a tree's bark surface to look for hidden insects more than many warblers do. They also frequently sit on exposed branches and catch passing insects - similar to a flycatcher.

(Taken on April 30, 2008.)

There's a website where you can log in birds that you see and the location where they are at. It was interesting to look at where the Yellow-Rumped Warbler has been recently - individual sightings and flocks of these birds.

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Yo-Yos

Yo-yos can be the toy or made from fabric and used in various crafts. Some people make toys - using a stacked string of yo-yos for the body and limbs of the toy (e.g., cat, dog, clown). Others will use them in quilts, coverlets, table runners, clothing embellishments, and jewelry (e.g., bracelets).

Yo-yos are simple to make and are a portable craft.

Yo-yo ornaments that I made.

(Taken on September 21, 2009.)

Most commonly associated with the 1930s and 1940s, yo-yos and yo-yo quilts of that era frequently mimicked hexagon mosaic patterns that were popular at the time, such as Grandmother’s Flower Garden.

Yo-yo quilt that we saw at a quilt show.

(Taken on April 21, 2012.)

They also are a good way to use up small bits of fabric, which would have appealed to thrifty quilters who needed to make do with what they had during that time period.

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In the process of going through the files that began with "Y," I recycled a half of a bag of papers. This brings the total up to 19 bags of recycling since April 1st!