March 14, 2018
Page 9
Mississippi
Alberta
North Portland
Vancouver
East County
Beaverton
George Mayes poses in front of his bike and birdhouse cart, a device that allows him to haul his unique creations to street corners around town, much to the admiration of passersby.
Portland man
builds unique,
sustainable
birdhouses
by D anny P eterson
t he P ortlanD o bserver
You won’t see a more popular street
vendor with humans and animals alike
than the birdhouse toting George Mayes,
who makes a striking impression on street
corners with his bicycle and hand-crafted
wooden trailer.
Packed full of what looks like rustic,
miniature cabins -- some even complete
with chimneys, staircases, awnings and
roof shingles – the cart is loaded with the
future nesting homes for our feathered, fly-
Inspired
Creations
ing neighbors.
Hardly a moment can pass before a cus-
tomer dogs him about his creations or just
gets enraptured with conversation. With his
towering frame, white beard, and a bellow-
ing laugh like Santa Claus, the 62-year-old
has a knack for putting smiles on stranger’s
faces.
A former carpenter, Mayes said he’s al-
ways thrived on working with his hands.
“I enjoy, you know, craftsmanship and
building. It seems like it just opens my
mind up,” Mayes said.
His birdhouses are also environmentally
friendly. He uses recycled, organic materi-
als, like cedar and found branches, to cre-
ate green birdhouses that can even thwart
predation of smaller birds. The traditional
birdhouse perch, which is usually done in
the form of a dowel jutting out from the
feeder, sometimes attracted larger, preda-
tory birds, Mayes found. So he redesigned
the birdhouses so that they used a diamond
shape ledge half an inch wide so smaller
birds could feed in peace.
He’s even designed original bat-houses,
upon a customer’s request.
Mayes’ is known for selling his artis-
tic creations, which range from $30-$50,
in front of the Multnomah County Court-
house, downtown; along Hawthorne at
Powell’s Books; at Good Samaritan Hos-
pital in northwest Portland and in front of
the New Seasons Market on the corner of
North Interstate and Rosa Parks Way.
Always seeing the glass half full, Mayes
has battled gout as a medical condition and
homelessness, but never gave up being
C ontinueD on P age 15