Friday musings

You know it is Friday when your mind starts to wander and you start thinking and exploring ideas outside the box.  A few days ago I read an article about natural burials.   

One option is a biodgradable cremation urn.

The ARKA Acorn Urn is intended to contain ashes after cremation. The Acorn Urn is made in the UK from recycled paper and other natural fibers. It's hand worked and sanded smooth in the ARKA workshop in Brighton, UK, and then overlaid in a moss-green mulberry bark paper dyed with natural color. Once buried, the natural fibers will decompose rapidly. Produced to UK regulation size - 10" high x 8" wide (220 cubic inches) - it's considered a large urn, adequate for most cremated remains

 Sustainability Profile

• Recycled paper - 80% post-consumer fiber body
• Renewable materials - outer paper mulberry bark
• Non-toxic colors
• Biodegradable in soil
• Made in UK

How to use the natural Acorn Urn

Plant the urn about 1-2 feet deep in the earth, at least 3 feet away from the roots of any small bushes or young trees. The alkaline "ash" of the burned bones, mostly calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate, then returns slowly to the soil and will be used over time by the plants and surrounding soil web.

 In Italy two Italian designers are bringing a new meaning to "family tree."
 
Anna Citelli and Raoul Bretzel proposed a plan to make cemeteries more eco-friendly by replacing headstones with trees.
It's called "Capsula Mundi," and it aims to replace coffins with egg-shaped burial pods.
The deceased would serve as fertilizer while encased in a biodegradable coffin underground.  Seeds are then planted on top of the pod, which will take the nutrients from the decomposing body to grow.

Now, I like both of these options but being buried in a pod in Oklahoma under a tree poses some serious consideration.  My state is known for its tornadoes and strong winds.  Winds that can uproot trees like they were popsicle sticks.  You see where I'm going with this?  One day I'm happy fertilizer for a magnificent Elm and the next I'm flying through the air dangling from the roots of a tree.

Or worse........what if

I get Dutch Elm disease and my tree gets chopped down and I become toilet paper?