Tom McMuffins

I got up at 7am totally excited for my first day out planting with Friends of Trees. I made these breakfast sandwiches for my new tree-planting buds – I figured there might be 10 people there on a rainy day in January.

Portlanders love to plant.

By Jove! There were over 120 people there!

“Okay, who wants butter?”

Was happy to see the sammies get et.

Photo: Paula Funatake

We filled our trailers and biked about 12 blocks into Foster-Powell.

Photo: Paula Funatake

Team W’s captains, Jennifer and Greg, showed us the ropes and by the end we were all super good with mud and stickers and twine. We met two of the homeowners and they were giddy about their new trees and grateful for our skills. It took us about two hours to plant about 10 trees – we were all soaked trough by the end. Note to self: Always bring an extra pair of gloves!

“Good job with that mud!”

Planting trees with Friends of Trees is both a hoot and a holler. It was the wettest planting day anyone could remember, so that made us feel rad. Afterward there were like 15 crockpots of hot soup and tons of bread and butter. Captain Greg says that once or twice a week he’ll pass by trees that he’s planted over the years, and I can see how it’d be a sweet feeling to see them grow and to know you had a part in making Portland a better place.