Possible human remains? Or fertilizer?

Treeaddict

Treehouser
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Harford county MD
I found this ash like substance around a champion white oak in a state park. It was dispersed as a ring around the tree There was a bouquet of flowers there. It reminded me of my charcoal ash as well as shell hash (little pieces of sea shell) and particle sizes in between the two. I don’t know what cremated remains look like or their volume but I suspect someone illegally left their mom around her favorite tree. What do you think?
 

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Yep. Back when working as a hospice nurse a family told me at a follow-up appointment after he died that they had wanted to commemorate their father’s love for fishing, hired a boat and headed out of Ocean City, MD. Opened the container of cremains while at full speed to ‘spread’ them. The vacuum created behind the wheelhouse pulled most of dear old Dad back in and around the family and crew.

That story came in handy when another family of a retired pilot told me they had thought about hiring a small plane to spread his ashes out the window over their farm. I could envision them in a cloud of ash and bone chips, all blinded and coughing as they crashed! Needless to say they changed their mind.
In those days I was driving chase vehicle for friends who were hot air balloonists so I suggested that as a possible alternative, but my friends had no interest in taking the family up for cremated remains spreading.
 
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More than a few chose scattering up on the hill somewhere here at Mt.Snow ... when Jerry Garcia died he chose Cremation and scattering on the Ganges River , there is a short phone vid and not all band members were there. Cannot possibly top that location in popularity for this ritual , it's a big thing.
 
We have found ashes around big redwoods many times while hiking, mostly while bushwhacking off-trail. I always wondered why they chose that particular tree. One time, miles away from a trail, we found ashes and a plaque that said "Old Dave...he burned the candle at both ends". I still wonder about Old Dave.
 
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