Unusual Hobbies

Butterfly In Hand
Photo by Maggie Jaszowska on Unsplash

There are countless hobbies out there for you to try.  Hobbies are great for relaxation and to keep your brain sharp while you learn new things.  With the Internet you can almost always find others that share your interest either locally or online.

Below are some ideas to get you started.

Tree Shaping

You know how you sometimes come across shrubs and trees with geometric and animal shapes?  That is tree shaping.  I guess the first step is to grow a bunch of your own bushes.  I don’t think the neighbors would appropriate you experimenting on their trees and bushes without asking!

Geocaching

This is a way to put all those GPS enabled devices to work.  The idea here is hobbyists navigate to a set of coordinates and find little treasures there in the geocache container.  This hobby is growing and there is lots of information on how to get started online.

Collecting Insects

OK, so collecting insects is not for everyone.  But if want to give it a try there is no shortage of different kinds to collect.

Soap Carving

Not sure how this one got starting but at least you can still use the shavings to clean up.  And when you get tired of looking at your creation you still have the soap!

Making Snow Globes

Never thought of this one but it is pretty cool.  Snow Globes make great gifts, and you can get as artistic as you want.

Ghost Hunting

I confess my wife and I used to love the “Ghost Hunters” show.  Well people really do this and I’m sure you can meet some interesting people, even live ones!  Do a search and find a group in your area.  Some communities even offer haunted house tours.  Keeping a journal of your experiences could be fun.

Origami

I’ve always been fascinated by those paper creations.  There are books and kits available to give it a try.  I assume the materials are basic and inexpensive.

Whittling

This one has been around for centuries. The shavings aren’t quite as useful as soap carving shavings, but you can always use wood shavings for kindling.

Stone Skipping

Never heard of this one but apparently the record for skipping stones is over 50 skips.  It may take a bit of practice to reach that level.  On the other hand, skipping stones across a pond on a nice day is probably very relaxing.

Brewing Beer

This one has also been around for a long time.  There are kits and lots of information available.  If you like beer it must be awful gratifying to offer guests your own brew!

Metal Detecting

I have tried this one and it really is a thrill to find old stuff buried long ago.  We never found anything valuable but that didn’t matter, it was great fun.  Just make sure you have permission to dig and make sure you put things back as you found them.

Building Rockets

I enjoyed building model rockets as a kid, and later with my son.  Model rocketry isn’t just for kids.  There are groups all around the country and some build some really big creations.

Flying Drones

Learning to fly a drone and then taking pictures and videos is a relatively new hobby.  It probably pays to learn on small and inexpensive drones before committing to an expensive model.  It can get expensive to crash and lose your drones.

Chainsaw Carving

This is the third “carving” hobby in this article.  This one isn’t for the faint of heart!  But I am amazed at the creations of experienced artists.

Rock Collecting

This one can be as simple as collecting specimens off the ground that just look nice.  Or you can order all kinds of samples online or at “Rock shops.”  In my trips to the southwest US rock shops were common and always fascinating to visit.

Wargaming

I did this one with friends as a young adult.  It still could be fun now and I bet it wouldn’t be hard to find a group of friends to play a couple times a month.  Start with “Risk” or “Axis and Allies” and go from there.  Good times!

Legos

Legos aren’t’ just for kids and you are only limited by your imagination.  There are shows and contests all over the world.

Making Fireworks

I came across this one in my research and didn’t even know it was legal!  Obviously you better make sure it is legal in your area and know what you are doing.  I would think that if you try to order too much of the required chemicals and supplies you might get a visit from law enforcement!

As you can see there are an endless number of hobby possibilities.  The fun part is experimenting to find one or more that work for you!

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