Hiding Places in Old Spaces

I went round the yard today with the intent of trying to capture on camera a bright yellow butterfly that kept drinking the nectar from my bright red hibiscus blooms.  He was also flitting around the last of the summer lilies.  In the process, I saw interesting little oddities that I call "hiding places".  Old homeplaces seem to have lots of hiding places and spaces.  I'll take you on a picture tour:

This rusty old hand water pump has been hidden itself until we recently cleaned out some old shrubs that had taken over.  The pump was once a hiding place too - it hid our spare house key - but now it only hides a rogue spider or two.

 This mushroom that's a product of our recent wet weather hides bugs from the chickens and could also be a hiding place for little fairies that live in the moss.  Don't fairies live under mushrooms?

 This old knot hole in the tree is a hiding place for little squirrels.  I've seen them scamper in and out.

 This red bloom is the hiding place of the pretty yellow butterfly that's perched upon it. It's interesting how the color of the leaves camouflage the butterfly.

 This was once a majestic black walnut tree.  It finally died and we haven't cut it down because we promised someone the wood to make beautiful things with.  I hope they cut it down soon as it is near our house.  It hides insects that the woodpeckers love to devour.

 Another old tree that we recently lost is ready for the ax but meanwhile it's nooks and crannies hide Theo sometimes as he's stalking the birds.

The last of the summer garden!  The vines hide one of the last tomatoes.

 This old tiling normally hides the bottom of my summer flower baskets filled with wave petunias which spill over it's sides.  This time of year the baskets begin to die away - but it's waiting to hold next years flowers.

 These century old bricks that we've dug up around the place camouflage this old metal duck decoy quite well, don't you think.  Look how the colors blend.

 This old flower pot was hiding many, many ants when I turned it over this afternoon.  Now, they'll have to hide elsewhere.

 This old ivy covered fence hides our neighbors house.

 This overgrown ivy hides an old rusty lantern.

 This "secret garden" has hidden cardinals, brown thrush and best of all the grandchildren as we've played games over the years.  This is the place that prompted me to write "The Secret Garden" that you can find at this older post.

 The fork in the tree hides whatever finds it way there.

 The mossy ground hides old bricks that over time find their way to the surface. We've dug hundreds of them up as we've cultivated new flower beds and gardens.  The brick factory in town must have given the whole neighborhood free bricks back in its heyday. 

 This very, very old tree hides many squirrel nests that are only obvious in the winter months when the leaves are gone.  It also hides the sky and provides a beautiful shelter from the sun.

 The old remnants of a flower pot hid a seedling until it burst forth looking for the sun.

 We call this the "whale" house.  It hides the well pump that once generated the water for the house until the county ran water lines through our area.  When our granddaughter Chloe was a tiny thing, she had heard us call it the well house.  One day she asked if I could open it up so she could see the whale that lived inside.  I suppose she thought a baby whale lived in the little one.  I really don't know what the little one hides since I have never opened it up to look.  Maybe spiders and snakes?  That's why I haven't opened it.

 Another hole in a tree hides lizards and squirrels I suppose.

This birdbath is not frequented very often by birds as it's Theo's favorite hiding place to wait for them.  He also likes to drink from it.

 This weedy patch hides a watermelon that sprouted from a half eaten watermelon this summer.  A huge vine grew and there's four large melons almost ready to eat. 

This old building hides the garden tools inside and sports some oldies on the outside.

This old bird cage hides a hummingbird plant that grows through it and a stray lizard or two.

It's amazing what you see when you get the camera out.  And just think - all these were hiding from me until I went looking.