I’ve always been a news junkie. At age nine, I created “My Book of News Cartoons,” a scrapbook that included drawings about inflation, President Carter, and a coal miner’s strike. I became a newspaper reporter in my 20s and spent many years covering daily news. But recently, when I found myself doomscrolling the news on my phone while watching CNN, I thought, I need to limit my news consumption. It’s just too much, even for me. I decided to re-start an old hobby to keep my hands busy without my phone – embroidery.
As we re-air “Avian Obsessions” this week, I’ll share one of my new owl creations with you. I’m working on a series of owls, and then framing them, so maybe a little obsessed myself. I’m not alone in embracing what’s known as “Grandma hobbies” – baking, knitting, gardening, crocheting, canning, and doing puzzles. Real Simple magazine says “Cozy ‘Grandma’ Hobbies are Trending” and they’re good for your mental health. Forbes explores how they reframe what we think about productivity and can help us live a slower, more meaningful life.
Birdwatching is having a big moment as one of these hobbies. Audubon delights in telling us more than 1 in 3 people in the U.S. now enjoy birding. NPR notes younger generations are getting into birding. And Scientific American announces, “We Are in A Golden Age of Bird-Watching.” Of course, these low-tech pastimes have been part of our society for generations. But maybe we need them now in a new way. What are your “Grandma (or Grandpa) hobbies"?
– Shannon