Digging up Rusty Gold

We enjoyed a warm, sunny evening in our yard as a family last night. 

It started with a little basketball . . . 

which led to throwing sticks with the dog . . . 

which led to cutting down a small tree . . . 

which led to the discovery of a mysterious piece of metal in the bank of our yard.

The yard was graded this way about 11 years ago and we never saw this . . . until now.  After little progress with a stick, my son resorted to a shovel.  He got this far until I made him quit for the night.  For one - we still needed to get supper and it was 7:00.  Second - I didn't like how he was digging.  I was afraid he was going to damage the "rusty gold" I had discovered.  Yes - I'm a little weird. :)

My husband thought I was crazy.  He informed me that it was just a lid to a barrel and I told him he can't tell when there is just a small piece sticking out.  I had to know what it was and remove it.  I thought it might be cool to use in my landscape somewhere.

 After a little more digging today, I found myself fighting with a few roots.  I'm not sure what plant this is from.  The closest tree is a few yards away.  I finally cut the roots to make the digging easier.  I think the plant will survive - unless it was something I didn't want - then it really doesn't matter.  Right?

So . . . my husband was right.  It's a lousy barrel lid.  Rusty?  Yes, indeed.  Gold?  Hardly.  I guess this is why the American Pickers only refer to undug items as "Rusty Gold".  Oh, well.  It was fun figuring it out.  Maybe the plants will grow better now that they have room to grow.  Of course I need to plant them first.

Now I have a big hole.

Here's a better look at the mess I made.  

I thought about going out and buying a tree.

Then I decided I needed to wait until we build my dream deck - even though that might be a while.

In the meantime, I filled in the hole.

Anyone know how to use an old, rusty, bent barrel lid in a landscape?