Part of the reason I like video games is to explore them. Whether you pick a game with cars which race through the countryside, or villagers trying to build up a city before the army comes to crush it, some video games are made to be explored by people who like art, history and technology. In short, urban explorers.

I was asked how I came to volunteer with Ontario Barn Preservation. This is what I wrote.

Ironically, I am allergic to almost everything inside a barn: hay, animals, and mold/fungus. But, I really like history, particularly finding out about how things were done/ made and worked. My Dad was an electrical engineer who always wanted (and tried several times) to be a dairy farmer. But, he did not want to get his hands dirty. Anyway, that's why I mostly grew up in the suburbs, mainly a town called Port Union in the east end of Scarborough, Toronto, now.

I've loved writing and tried drawing since I was a kid. I became a photographer as I grew up, not professionally at all. I took photos of my Mom's garden for her. I took photos of family and my cats and family trips, my own trips. Always interested in old buildings and places too. In college Photography was one of the courses I took as part of Corporate Communications. When I got my first digital camera I was finally able to take all the photos I wanted without thinking about the cost of developing them. At first I only had to make sure I had enough storage and battery power. My first camera didn't have much for storage.

One of the first places I photographed was an abandoned farm house near Bradford. The house was demolished since then. But, that was the start of photographing old farm houses around Ontario. The next camera I bought was an investment with more memory and a memory card for storage. It also had zoom so I could see details of buildings farther away or get a close look at a house I couldn't access. I started a group for rural exploration photographers in Ontario on Flickr. Its still there along with a few others. I met other people through my photo group and got together to meet a few in person too. I was still in my 30's and 40's then.

By my 50's I wasn't doing as much. But, I still like seeing other photos of old places in Ontario. I often search for history related groups/ organizations in Ontario. I keep a list of links from those I find. Most of them I added to the ODP site. I maintain the category for Urban Exploration there. Anyway, from looking for Ontario history this and that I found Ontario Barn Preservation. They were looking for volunteers. I knew I could not be someone who goes into barns, or help with knowing how to fix them up. But, I sent in my name anyway, just to see what would come from it.

That was about 3 years ago I think. I've been checking the emails, replying to them or directing them to the right people here. I write the newsletter every two months (not strictly on schedule), I post blurbs to social media accounts. Also helping out with memberships, posts to the website, running the site, finding possible contractors to add to the list, dozens of this and that as needed. Officially, I'm the administrative assistant.

When I was photographing the old farm houses I didn't really pay much attention to the barns. There were there and I got some photos, but it was the houses, the abandoned gardens, the structure and the weathering that I especially photographed. Since joining OBP I've learned more about barns and have a greater appreciation for them. Sometimes they call them cathedrals of the field and I think its a good name for them.

Of course, you could put together your own kit. Some cleaning solution, brushes, a little pick to pluck mould/ fungus out of the small places, and something to keep water in. But, it supports others if you choose to buy the kit. Also, you won't have to look for the best cleaning solution and brushes yourself.

I think you might bring along something to sit on too. Also, I'd consider an old towel or blanket to spread on the grass. Just in case the grass doesn't like something in the soap/ cleaner you use.

If you pick out the fungus and mould consider collecting all of those little living things and moving them to a new location. I've seen people making gardens with mould and fungi collected from the street.

Of course, bring your camera! If nothing else, get some before and after photos.

An application to write about 2 topics for another website. (I never heard from them but when I looked more the site seemed to be shutting down).

ASCII Art

The Forgotten Art Made for the Internet When it was Still New Does ASCII Art Belong, Forgotten, in the Internet Archives? The Internet Art Almost No One Knows About The Art of Making Pictures When You Can't Draw a Straight Line

I still make ASCII art. I've seen it called a few things: keyboard art, type-based illustrations and text art. I think it is the most often stolen, and yet unknown, art form on the Internet. But, that's not what I really want to write about. ASCII art is technically challenging, like putting together a puzzle. It can be pretty, it can even be coloured so it isn't just black and white. Images can be tiny or large, depending on the size of your viewing screen and the patience of the artist. I began making ASCII art because I thought it was amazing and I found a way to draw long after I had given up ever creating images myself. Making an image I feel proud of boosts me up and other days, when I'm down, making something small and simple at least helps me feel I accomplished something creative with the day. I know ASCII art is outdated. Once MS started bringing images into email and game developers discovered pixels, text art began a decline into musty archives. I still love it. Misplaced, ridiculous loyalty possibly, but I still make ASCII art. Not a great focus for a story, but the real story is the art and I'm not short of good images to showcase with a post on Messy Nessy.

https://asciiartist.com/ http://asciiartist.com/ldbasciiart/ - Private link which I don't share on the site. All the ldb art is created by myself so I can use whatever works to illustrate the post. I take screen shots of the art in MS Notepad with the font set to bold. That seems to work best/ easiest.

Rural (Urban) Exploration

Finding Lost Ontario with a Digital Camera and the Wrong Shoes Exploring Abandoned Places While Not Really Believing in Ghosts Exploring Lost Ontario While Saving the Odd Garden Flower Exploring Abandoned Farmhouses in Ontario Photographing Old Ontario Farmhouses

I am 56 and still photographing old, derelict farmhouses here in Ontario. I didn't think that was unusual until younger people told me they were surprised I was so old. (They said it much kinder than that). I guess I am a relic, photographing other relics. But, I love the old buildings, places and the odd bits of this and that I find along the way. Abandoned and forgotten gardens with surviving plants among the wildflowers. A green Pyrex bowl which I found buried in the dirt as I walked through a field after photographing a farm house which was a wreck then and is now demolished. I don't like to call them wrecks. It seems an unkind word. Modern ruins is a little more gentile. I seldom enter the old places. Partly because that crosses some polite Canadian line of courtesy and respect to the house itself. Partly, because I'm middle age and not too skinny. Exploring old places is a bit risky. I can talk my way out of questions from people, it helps being an older woman then. Plus, I really do love the old places and listening to the stories people will tell once they decide I'm no threat. Being caught is not a problem for me. Bigger issues have been animals like birds, bees, and frogs underfoot. Unknown ground when walking around long grass and deep snow can trip you up, literally. Anyway, this is the story I would like to write. Mostly about exploring as an older woman and the places I have found. Photos and imagery are no problem, I have been exploring with a digital camera since 2006.

https://ontarioexploration.com - Not a great link to see the images right now. I have just bought software to add watermarks to my images and I've changed my site from WordPress . A lot was lost along the way. I have all the photos on my hard drive, just not yet on the site again.