dilapidated barrel
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: The #Dilapidated State of Things

I traveled to Portland, Oregon and although I was on a short blog break last week, I managed to talk about blogging the entire time! Marsha Ingrao of Always Write flew to Portland from Phoenix, Arizona. I drove my car 6 hours from Spokane, Washington, and picked her up. We had arranged to stay a few days with my cousin in Tigard, a suburb of Portland. More about the blogger meet-up shortly.

“I can’t write on the road. I have to be home. I have to be around all those rusted tractors and dilapidated fences and things like that, because it just grounds me in a way that I can’t find in a hotel room.“ — John Fullbright

Rusty tractor
My neighbor’s dilapidated rusty tractor juxtaposed against a new car

DILAPIDATED. Basic definitions describe dilapidated as something that needs repair or is broken down.

Imagine a picturesque, rustic old barn. Sadly, I did not see any. Where is a rustic red barn when you need one? So, help me out here and post a few of those for me 😉

Dilapidation Everywhere?

After the pandemic, do you feel that many things are in a state of disrepair? It seems everywhere we look, things appear dilapidated, broken, junky, and incomplete.

On our trip, Marsha kept taking pictures of EVERYTHING, commenting, “that looks dilapidated.” She was right of course (because she “always” is), but I suggested that she should look for compelling images to depict dilapidation. There were still a LOT of compelling dilapidated images to capture.

Fence texture

The supply chain is still compromised, repairs to roads and infrastructure are still slow to be rectified, not to mention ridiculous prices on everything. It shows up more in our daily lives.

Since I live in a rural area, I rely on online shopping for a LOT of everyday items. When my postal clerk pulled this package out I almost died. This dilapidated box held dishes from a major department store.

Beat-Up Shipping Box
Is it compelling?

He suggested I take a picture of the package in case the contents were broken. Thankfully they were packed well inside, and nothing was broken. Good job whoever shipped this.

This old home in Deer Park, Washington is in need of repair, and the rustic backyard fence shows stages of dilapidation.

abandoned house
Dilapidated trail fence

To describe dilapidated, we can be positive and say something has been well-used, like this old basketball hoop in my cousin’s backyard.

Overplayed basketball hoop

Spent and Droopy Flowers

The idea of dilapidated also applies to flowers. Last month, I missed the nearby gorgeous sunflower fields by a few weeks.

Dilapidated sunflowers
Gone-to-seed sunflower field

And a spent sunflower from my garden in 2019.

Drying sunflower

One of our original sightseeing ideas was to visit the dahlia fields south of Portland. When my cousin told us that her neighbor had two huge beds of dahlias, we checked for ourselves and were not disappointed. We were so amazed that we walked the two blocks to the mini dahlia fields at least three times to snap our fill of amazing dahlias. We saved money and time by staying closer to home.

Some of the dahlias were the size of salad plates, and so heavy that this happened!

fallen dahlia
Fallen dahlia


Looking abandoned and broken, the dahlia was rescued by Marsha and me and propped back up to its mended glory!

Propped up Dahlia

Stay tuned for more dahlias next week!

Although we are still waiting for Autumn to fully arrive, fallen leaves “fall” into the category of dilapidated.

fallen leaves
rustic leaves

“Prune the ill branches so that a tree grows. Prune the dilapidated buildings so that a city flourishes.” ~Khang Kijarro Nguyen

Relationships are Fortified When Bloggers Meet-Up

Bloggers' lunch downtown Portland
Bloggers’ lunch downtown Portland

Visiting Marsha is always a treat–we’ve now visited each other in four states. We were so excited to meet up with three other Pacific Northwest bloggers. Our visit was enriched by our time together. We met for lunch in downtown Portland with Miriam Hurdle (The Showers of Blessings) and Diana Peach (aka D. Wallace Peach, Myths of the Mirror), both of whom are in the middle of book launches. They both took time out of their super busy lives to spend time with us. We so enjoyed talking and just getting to know each other better.

We met with Kirstin Troyer two days later at Fort Vancouver National Park, just across the Columbia River in Washington. We spent hours walking around capturing images that depict upcoming photo/blog challenge themes. Kirstin is a loyal participant of Sunday Stills and you can find her blog here at Loving Life.

Fort Vancouver WA visitor center
Kirstin, Marsha and Terri at Fort Vancouver WA

I swear we did not plan the orange shirts and denim jeans (maybe Marsha and I did, but just a little). Kirstin, Marsha, and I then drove to the nearby Weekend Market, took more pics, and ate lunch.

taking pictures
Marsha and Terri snapping away. Image by Kirstin Troyer

Wake Me Up When September Ends (WOTY)

The month of September was a stressful month due to the focus on the wildfires in California that destroyed many areas of the Western Sierra Nevadas. My dad’s home was spared but many homes and properties were not.

My Word of the Year is WALK. And that I did.

Let’s see, what else? My Facebook page was hacked and the hacker got into my bank account and spent $$ on advertising! A few days before my trip to Portland, my dog was attacked and bitten by two neighbor dogs, resulting in a sizable vet bill. My brother-in-law suffered a mild heart attack which was treated and he is home.

My trip to Portland was well deserved but busy! I got to spend time with fellow bloggers getting to know them better. We visited areas of Portland, Vancouver, and Tillamook, places I hadn’t seen. Marsha probably thinks I’m a hot mess after driving with me (Portland traffic is legendary and I’m not used to ANY traffic)! I got to spend special time with my sweet cousin (her husband passed away in June 2021). All the while my stalwart hubby stayed home with the dogs and still managed to work on the interior of the shop/barn.

I am truly blessed in spite of it all. Walking kept me sane.

Photo Challenges I’m Inspired By This Week

Each week I am inspired by my fellow bloggers’ photo challenges. I find it fun to incorporate these into my Sunday Stills weekly themes.

How To Participate in the Sunday Stills Photo Challenge

Sunday Stills weekly photo challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post.

  • Remember to title your blog post a little differently than mine.
  • Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
  • Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
  • Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
  • Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
  • I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.

This Week’s Featured Bloggers

Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are this week’s links from bloggers who shared their “dilapidated” photos. I add these all week as new links are posted.

To see more of my images and other news, consider following Terri on Social Media by clicking the icons:

Last time I shared that my Facebook page Second Wind Leisure Perspectives was hacked. The Facebook team took care of the problem (and refunded my $$), but I no longer have a page I can connect to my blog. Please feel free to follow me on my Facebook Profile.

The Sunday Stills themes for October are ready to view on my Sunday Stills Page.

Dilapidated? Rustic? Timeworn? You decide. I can’t wait to see what you come up with, and I’m serious about sharing your rustic red barns.

Autumn SIGNature

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139 comments

  1. Wow, I’m assuming the bank account you are talking about is your Facebook account. It’s a challenge to keep the bad guys out.
    It is always fun to meet up with other bloggers and visit about our unique hobby of blogging whether it’s to support other projects or just for the fun of it..

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  4. everything is nothing more than castles in the sand.
    If humans were to disappear today, all of our creations would eventually decay and fall. Then one day, a visitor from another world would not be able to find any traces of our civilization.
    All very natural.

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  6. Hi Terri, Thank you for your weekend coffee share. What an eventful and stressful September you had. I’m glad to hear your dad’s home was spared from the wildfires, your BIL is recovering at home and you got your money back after the hacking. I hope your dog is doing OK, too. It’s great that you met up with a few blogger friends and had timeout for fun. Life is full of ups and downs. I hope you have a great weekend and a wonderful October.

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  8. Yikes, the hacking incident sounds awful. I’m glad you got it sorted out without suffering too much damage. Sounds like you had a fabulous, if busy time in Portland and its surrounds. I love that area. Great selection of ‘dilapidated’ photos. I love that tractor particularly. There used to be a red ‘barn’ on this property, but it was knocked down a few years back and I don’t have any photos of it. It wasn’t one of those scenic ones anyway. Here’s mine this week: https://grahamsisland.com/2022/10/02/dilapidated-shed/

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  11. What a fun post, Terri. September was crazy busy for you! What a combination of fun adventure and stress at the same time. It was a blast meeting you, Marsha, and Miriam, and chatting non-stop. My first time meeting bloggers after almost 10 years of blogging. Beautiful photos too. I actually like dilapidated things and find stories hidden within them. And I love how quickly nature reclaims them. Have an awesome Sunday!

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  14. Wow. September was quite a month for you. Highs and lows. Your take on dilapidated is similar to the post that I have started and will post later today. Will be happy to se more of those dahlias! Bernie

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  17. Aw, your September was full of adventures. It’s so fun to read about your blogging buddies and that you meet up with them in person. I hope things are going well in your dad’s place. You hit the nail on the head with your thoughts about how things have changed with the pandemic. I look around at places that used to be thriving and now are closed. I look forward with hope to the recovery and reviving phase of this whole nightmare. Take care and thanks for sharing your adventures with us! PS – I love your photos too!

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  18. Terri,
    Blogging meetups are a lot of fun, and yours sounded delightful. Hopefully, we will have that opportunity at some point. I looked through my pic files for something dilapidated, but the closest thing I could find was a picture of me on my last birthday–I’ll spare you from seeing that! Good to have you back online. Please stay in touch. Joe

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  19. Hi Terri what a roller coaster month for you. Being hacked is scary isn’t it? I know our credit card was used last year and I have no idea how the fraudster obtained our details. I managed to discover the fraud and they had spent $500 which the bank was able to recover. It was scary but also inconvenient as we had to wait for new cards and then change card information on different payments we make during the month.

    From your photos I will now be looking for delipidation in my world. Although fortunately, I can’t see any at the moment. It is such a shame when things are left to rot and die slowly.

    On the flipside how wonderful to catch up with Bloggers? A memory of my visit to Canada and catching up with Donna from Retirement Reflections popped up last week. It has been 3 years since we met but a firm friendship has been forged.

    You also managed to keep walking which certainly helps not only the body but the mind.

    Thanks so much for linking up with us at WOTY and hopefully see you next month.

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  20. Nothing like a little good to try to counteract the bad. I guess that is life, but it’s way more fun to just have the good things.
    How wonderful you were able to see Marsha again and to meet up with other bloggers.
    OXOX
    Jodie
    http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
    PS. I love the matching looks too!

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  21. Hurrah for blogger meetups but September does sound a bit fraught for you! Hopefully the rest of the year will be much more positive. I like your dilapidated photos and the editing in the first. I like to use “shabby chic” in many cases of dilapidated but sometimes it’s beyond chic, shabby or otherwise.

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  23. Looks like you had a wonderful trip with lots of photos to show for it! Dilapidated isn’t an easy theme but you handled it beautifully! Love the sunflowers bowing down under the weight of their dying heads! I agree with you about the old barns. Every time I see one (not often) I want to take a picture but rarely do. My husband is usually driving, and I hate to make him stop, maybe next time I will!

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  24. A couple of things,Terri. When I view your post, one of the photos (the leafy path) does not show up (all you see is the blue square with a question mark). I have been going back and forth with Joe Messerli at PoliticallyIncorrectHumor.com, a WordPress site, about his meme newsletter that he sends out every day. Every couple of days now, none of his memes show up. However, I can see them in the WordPress Reader. Neither of us knows what the problem is, but the fact that I can’t see one of your photos leads me to believe that it might be a problem with the WordPress software itself. Just FYI.
    Secondly, when I read about your meeting in downtown Portland with your blogger buddies, I was afraid for your safety. Downtown Portland is a war zone, and I follow journalist Andy Ngo, who posts stories all the time; just yesterday he posted about AntiFa attacking drivers who were stopped at traffic lights in downtown Portland. You were lucky you all got away unmolested! And you did look so cute with your unintentionally-matching outfits!
    I will have my “dilapidated” post up this afternoon.
    Cheers!
    RB49

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    • I saw that when I previewed my post. I thought it had worked itself out. Thanks for the heads up. The area we ate lunch was pretty quiet and mostly younger folks wandering. We left right after and headed to another area away from downtown. I can’t handle that Portland traffic so we got out of there quickly. When we drove through downtown in June 2021, near where voodoo donuts is it was hideous. Look forward to your post.

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  27. Hi, Terri – Your Blogger’s Meet Up looks wonderful. And your photos of dilipatation are very, very effective. I am so sorry about the California wildfires, your FB page being hacked, your dog being attacked and your BIL’s heart attack. Wishing them all well and wishing you a stress-free October!

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  28. All I can say is hahahahahaha. I am working on my post for last week’s WQW, and dropped by to see what you’ve written. “Hot mess,” LOL. You did hit a bit of traffic. I think you did very well. Next time if you let me drive you will really know what a hot mess is. 🙂 But then I am used to traffic. 🙂 BTW, What about WFQ (Wednesday Fun Quotes?)

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  34. Greetings Terri – ! was reminded I hadn’t visited Sunday Stills when I saw Marsha’s post and her tales of your trip. My goodness you guys were busy!! I did laugh at the orange shirts I must admit. What a fun getaway it sounds like you had. But MAJOR bummer about the hacking! Can’t imagine how they got into your bank account – county yourself lucky all they bought was some advertising. Good for you for still smiling after your troubles paragraph. Enjoyed this one – especially the flowers!

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    • There is also a certain stress about traveling that I tend to forget but get caught up in, like traffic. I paid for something via Facebook years ago and never took the account off. So when the page got hacked the account was available. I quickly deleted through my FB profile. I got refunded through FB and all is well but who needs all that trouble? We had a grand time, Tina. I hope you haven’t been too affected by the hurricane and that you are safe.

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  35. Oh wow Terri. You surely had a lot going on. I see mercury retrograde didn’t leave anyone unscathed with woes. What a treat to be out with friends in our blogging community. I wish I could do that in my boring neck of the woods, lol. And can’t believe your dishes weren’t broken! May I ask how someone had access to your bank account on criminal Fakebook? ❤

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    • Meeting bloggers is always so special Debby! Everything turned out ok in this crazy month. Years ago, I bought something via Facebook and I must have left it open, and when the hacker hacked, he used it to buy ads using my hacked page. I was able to cancel it, alert my bank and FB meta folks refunded me. I have no more pages for FB. No way I can be hacked that way again. FB reallybdis come to the rescue but I had to dig deep to contact someone, and they opened the ticket and rectified it within a few days. Very scary experience just before I left for Portland.

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  37. I loved everything about this “dilapidated” post, Terri. Sometimes it looks like art, and you truly showed us that in the close ups of wood, and homes. Flowers? Dilapidated for sure and just looking towards the new season, like the leaves.

    I love that you met up with even more bloggers. Its fun and engaging and cool that you spent lots of time working on blog ideas etc.

    Welcome home again. I agree with your first quote …it grounds me in a way I can’t in a hotel room”.

    I am back on the road a bit myself. I Cana collect content, but the real work comes in my space. donna

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    • Hi Donna, thank you for the lovely comments! I’m sorry I’ve missed your posts, I have some catching up to do. Isn’t that a cool quote?–so perfect! Enjoy your time on the road, I know that inspiration will strike you no matter where!

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      • Please keep on with your journeys. We all kind of crash together when we can . You post reminds me of wabi-Sabi. Hoping I can put together what is on my mind. If not… lol. Wabi Sabi it is.

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  38. What a great theme for this week’s Sunday Stills, Terri. It must be my creative dark side, but I love the word ‘dilapidated.’

    Glad you had a great meet-up with the other bloggers. I’m not surprised you guys never ran out of anything to discuss. There must have been plenty of blogging talk going on. Thanks for sharing the photos with us.

    Sorry to hear that your Facebook account got hacked. It happened to me many years ago. One of the reasons why I said goodbye forever to Facebook. But why do companies make it so hard for us to be able to contact them? You should not have had to have dug for the information. It’s a little like trying to find a way to cancel a subscription. Companies make it so hard to do.

    You’ve come up with a great range of subjects for the word ‘dilapidated.’ I like the sunflower photo, but that dilapidated house was what caught my eye the most.

    I’ll be joining the prompt in my Wordless Wednesday post.

    Enjoy the rest of the week.

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    • Thanks so much, Hugh. It has been a fun theme to explore so far and I look forward to your WW post. We did indeed have a great time. Marsha is full of ideas and we talked non-stop about photography and writing. Meeting Diana, Miriam and Kirstin was fun and it is worth the time to meet folks in person and foster relationships.

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  39. Wow, Terri. What a crazy month for you guys. Glad to hear Dad is ok. And, Brodie? Cooper just got attacked just a few days ago too. Fortunately, I was able to fend the beast and the owner was able to recover her end of leash and take charge…sort off. After a good check, he had no bites just badly shaken up. Glad you enjoyed your trip! I haven’t had time to post Sundaystills yet. I selected a few photos but, your barn need will have me diving back in to see what else I might have to share. Stay tuned!

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    • It was a crazy month and it’s looking like October is winding up to be troublesome, Cheryl. Brodie is great, but I fear little Aero may have congestive heart failure. He goes to the vet this afternoon but I’m not sure what they’ll be able to do for a 12 year old dog. Sigh. Sorry to hear about Cooper’s attack…here I worry about coyotes and it’s neighbor dogs that are the problem. I hope you have a barn or two in your archives, it will

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  44. Exquisite photos, Terri! They captured the life cycle of the ending and, later, the beginning. I had a wonderful time meeting you, Diana, and Marsha in Portland and had so much fun catching up with each other. Most likely, we’ll move to Beaverton. We made three offers and withdrew two, but didn’t get one. We’re taking a break from house hunting and focusing on selling first. It looks like we’ll meet again after we move.

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    • Thank you so much, Miriam! You are one busy gal what with your house hunting and book launch! It was wonderful to meet you and get to know you and Diana better! I hope to get to Portland more often since family lives there as well as some in Southern WA. Best wishes on a good sale and happy hunting!

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  45. Terri , it was so good to see you catching up with Marsha, Miriam and Diana – what fun! I love all your dilapidated photos and I did think of joining in but it was a lovely long weekend here so I was out riding most of the time. I’m enjoying a slow return to my normal blogging routines after some time away. I think the sunflowers was an inspired choice for dilapidated!

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  47. You’re not wrong, Terri. I feel quite exhausted by your account of the month. Amazing how much we cram in, isn’t it? Glad about your Dad’s place, but there on the other coast the devastation, never mind dilapidation, of the hurricane. Equally frightening and beyond our control, so I guess the message is to enjoy life while we can. Wishing you a happy October! We had our first roast chestnuts last night so it must be Autumn. Loved your drooping dahlias.

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  49. Sounds like a busy time for you Terri. Same happened to me a year or so ago with hacking. Since then my blog is persona non grata on FB so I can’t link my posts to my page anymore!
    Love all your dilapidated photos 🙂

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  52. Seems you’ve had quite a month, with good times spent with blogging friends (I envy you that meet-up with Marsha in particular!) and some challenging stuff too. I’m glad you resolved your FB hacking issue (FB can be such a pain sometimes), that your dog’s injuries weren’t worse and your brother-in-law is recovering. Meanwhile, this is a them after my own heart, just the sort of subject I love to photograph. If picking favourites from your selection, that close-up of a battered bit of timber would be on the list for sure, along with your sunflowers and that opening shot – interesting perspective!

    I’m a bit behind as I was away last week but I found the perfect subjects in Sofia so I had to share them, doubling up with Jo’s Monday Walk: https://www.toonsarah-travels.blog/sofia-city-of-contrasts-and-a-work-in-progress/

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  53. Wow, Terri, what a great post, despite the list of bummers at the end. You know how much I love blog meet-ups! I follow three of you but will check the other two blogs out.

    I’m sorry I missed this prompt because I love to take pictures of dilapidated things (mostly old, broken-down buildings). I’m in the middle of my EV trip posts so I couldn’t work it in. Maybe you could do something similar, like “Abandoned” sometime? 🙂

    I’m looking forward to seeing pictures of the field of dahlias… that must have been spectacular.

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    • Thank you Philo. Difficult situations ended up well. My Facebook PAGE for Second Wind Leisure was hacked and although I deleted it, I was being notified of ads running on the page, many of which were illicit ads, and all in an unrecognizable alphabet (perhaps Thai). Then I was notified that I paid for an ad, which was significant, I reached out to facebook team (not an easy thing) and they finally rectified the situation. Years ago I added a payment option to my Facebook profile for the marketplace. I’d forgotten. The hacker used $75 from my checking account. Between my bank and facebook, I was refunded and took the payment option off. It was a doozy and very stressful. But all is good.

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  56. Terri, I am really late to this post … five days behind in Reader. I just saw Hugh’s “dilapidated” post. You have beautiful shots here as usual and nothing says dilapidated like spent sunflowers. I once grew a 12-foot sunflower that bent in two and the squirrels on the ground were having a field day with the seeds, though they weren’t quite ready. How nice you got together with different blogging buddies. I was smiling when I saw the same-color shirts, kinda planned and unplanned … perfect for the hues we see this time of year. Walking keeps me sane in our insane world.

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  58. I’m glad to hear you had fun traveling with other bloggers (I like your photo with Marsha taking photos and the little rainbow in the picture), but I’m sorry to hear about the other problems. Hopefully October is going well for you. I enjoy the photos of dilapidated things and your withered sunflower photos are definitely compelling. I also never saw a dahlia that huge. Good job reviving it!

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