I know spring has arrived when I see the ospreys nesting again at Spring Point. They are such a welcome sight after a long, confining winter.

We love the walk from Bug Light to Spring Point Light, and it is one of the great pleasures of life to sit on a bench directly across from the nest and observe these fascinating birds.

Every spring, after spending the winter either in Florida or South America, the ospreys return to this same nest that is perched on a platform atop a pole standing in the water between the Southern Maine Community College dock and the Portland Pipeline pier. Ospreys can live for as long as 25 years and usually mate for life, They have black wings and a black eye patch; their upper parts are brown and their undersides are a grayish white. The females are larger than males and often have a wingspan of 5 feet. They lay two to four eggs that take five weeks to hatch. After another eight weeks or so, the babies are ready to fly.

If you are lucky, you may see the adult birds dive for food, bringing up live fish in their talons. Listen for their call – a steady chirp, chirp, chirp. Ospreys do not seem to mind close-by human activity. While we sat enjoying the sun, the tanker Enrica Lexie came steaming in, tugboats hooting – the ospreys ignored the noise and continued placidly sitting on their nest.

Books of yore explored

Participants in our class on the History of Christianity at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute were delighted when our teacher, Terry Foster, informed us that he had arranged a fieldtrip to the Rare Book and Manuscript Section in the Special Collections area of the University of Southern Maine Library. On display were a number of books printed in Germany in the first half of the 16th century concerning the Protestant Reformation and the conflicts with Karl, the Holy Roman Emperor. Curator Susie R. Bock gave us a most informative tour of the exhibit, mentioning that the books are in excellent condition despite their age, as they were printed on rag paper that appears to be practically indestructible.

One of the most interesting books was by Johannes Schradin, published in1546. A satire against Emperor Karl, the book describes a dream by a Protestant preacher that Karl has become a vassal of Rome and that therefore Germans are released from their obedience to him. The title page is a fine woodcut depicting the author standing with such heroes of the German past as Frederick Barbarossa, who defended Germany against Rome in the 12th century.

Another book was a sermon on Christian life by Haug Marschalck, one of Martin Luther’s earliest supporters, illustrated with an appealing woodcut showing Christ as the “Good Shepherd.” I particularly liked one book whose title page shows the author, Hans Sachs, shoemaker and poet, discussing the Reformed faith with his friend, Peter, master baker, over bread and drink. Lurking in the background are two cowled monks.

Recognize these

sea themes?

The Maine Maritime Museum in Bath is noted for its worthwhile exhibits. This spring we enjoyed visiting “The Sea Within Us; Iconically Maritime in Fashion & Design.” It seems that our daily life is infused with such nautical icons as anchors, compasses and lighthouses, and if you look about you, you can spot them in advertisements, the comics, in paintings, in clothing, even in our language. Just think of the phrases, “hook, line and sinker,” “a pretty kettle of fish,” “a girl in every port,” “fish for a compliment,” “stormy seas,” “under the weather,” “crossing the bar” and “sink or swim.” Think of the painting by Winslow Homer, “Eight Bells,” with two sailors in oilskins taking the noon sight, and then remember “Eight Belles,” the Kentucky Derby runner-up in 2008, who unfortunately broke both of her front ankles while racing and was euthanized as she lay on the track.

We all are familiar with Popeye the Sailor Man, the Cracker Jack Sailor, Captain Horatio Hornblower, Captain Jack Aubrey, Captain Hook, Captain Nemo, Captain Haddock. And such varied companies as Jantzen, Cream of Wheat, Old Gold cigarettes, American Cyanimide, New York Life Insurance, and Miller Brewing used nautical themes in their advertising. Is there anyone who doesn’t recall the albatross in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Coleridge or who has forgotten the green parrot and Long John Silver in “Treasure Island” by Robert Lewis Stevenson? I spotted a handsome mug made of Liverpool-Ware and dated 1820 that was inscribed with the following sentiment – “From rocks and sands And Ev’ry Ill, May God Preserve The Sailor Still.” On leaving the museum, we had to stop and savor a gorgeous figurehead carved by Emory Jones of Freeport. It was of Captain Sam Skolfield II and was mounted on one of his own sailing ships. A strikingly handsome man with wavy black hair and a black handlebar mustache, sporting a long gray coat and black bow tie and carrying a parchment in one hand, he must have made an impressive sight as he sailed across the bounding main.

PMA fills a film gap

It was a shock when The Movies on Exchange Street closed its doors forever. But we were relieved when the Portland Museum of Art announced that it would at least partially fill the need for showing documentaries and foreign films to the Portland audiences. We took advantage of this new service a few weeks ago and went to see the movie “Katyn” on Saturday afternoon. The theater at the PMA is quite a change from the old-fashioned theater in the Old Port – perhaps less charming, but far more comfortable and the sound and sight lines are much improved. I would hate to have missed seeing “Katyn” – it is an enthralling story of the Polish Army officers who in 1939 retreated from the Germans attacking from the west, and fell into the hands of the Russians invading Poland from the east. Acting on orders from Stalin, the Russians executed the Polish officers – they were shot in the back of the head and dumped into mass graves – but blamed the Germans for the whole affair. The truth came out when newspapers and diaries inadvertently buried with the bodies were uncovered and proved that only the Russians could have carried out this horrific massacre. This movie reminded us of the terrible consequences of war, and the overwhelming impact on those innocent populations living under occupying forces.