General Discussion

There's been a few forum posts discussing hobbies and obscure things people do here, thought I might ask;

What are some obscure/niche hobbies you do outside?

For me, I like to collect scrap and interesting items for my apocalypse cosplays, rusted trinkets and tools are fun to find. It allows me to explore the city around me and learn about the neighborhoods that I'm in. Also gets a good laugh out of me when I get to see ridiculous things being thrown out.

..ever tried the good ol hitting a large stick on tough outside object repeatedly? a real classic.

on a real note i also find myself collecting scraps/trash(like wrappers,tags,writings,photos ect.) to use as journal scraps. unsanitary but not as gross as it sounds^^'' i like to take photos of most places i go outside as well, its kind of a mission for me everytime im outside to find a scenic shot.

Urban exploration!

Step 1 : find abandoned building

Step 2 : walk around outside/inside of it

Step 3: profit!

Funnily enough, trying to get into Urbex when you live in a dense city center can actually be a bit difficult, because buildings aren't really left abandoned in the city, they get torn down and replaced pretty quick. Its pretty fun tho! The scenery and vibes are unmatched

I am always looking for isopods and cool bugs... you got a fruit tree? A garden? I'm looking under your rocks watch out

the other day i randomly discovered the existence of streetcomplete (android app), for openstreetmap surveying... once the weather gets more mobile-device-friendly (and bare-hands-friendly.... brrrr) then going to town to tweak stuff on osm in some ways or other to be more accurate/up-to-date in my town may become some level of hobby for me :-o i feel like it could be really fun for me - partly cos thisd be Actually Useful and all especially cos some things in my town might be Intensely Out Of Date (bus stops thatve not existed for years now, etc) but also a bonus excuse for taking big long [expletive]ing walks

I guess outside home, I have a habit of picking up random advertising pamphlets, tourist information, instruction leaflets etc. that they have just sitting on a stand for free while I walk around. I then put them in a big box at home.

I've done this while travelling overseas as well and now I just have this box full of 10 years worth of random pamphlets from around the world.

Along the way I also have a habit of taking photos of random things. Not tourist sites, just random objects and everyday life.

I collect acorns or acorn shells that are dried up and make them into small beads! I also collect rocks and little metal thingys to clean up. If I'm lucky, I will stumble upon some lost coins to add to my "emergency loose-change box".

[quote name="wetware" date="2025-01-13 18:22:48" ] I am always looking for isopods and cool bugs... you got a fruit tree? A garden? I'm looking under your rocks watch out [/quote] I've been called out-

Dunno how niche this is, but the fiancé and I like to sit outside at night (with favorable weather/temperatures) and do a little astrophotography with his telescopes.

It's not always perfect, 'cause we're surrounded by trees and have a little light pollution thanks to neighboring cities, but we've managed to get some neat shots on occasion.