The winter issue of MOQ is printed, collated, and stapled, even, and warming the cold hands of our subscribers as they eagerly turn the pages. Or maybe it's their hands that are warming the frosty pages of their recently delivered MOQs, after offering their trusty letter carriers a nice hot cup of cocoa. OK, more likely the letter carriers had to get their hot cocoa at the local coffee shop at the end of a day of delivering the holiday mail, along with MOQs, which include the 2009 Useful Calendar in the envelopes. How can I get my letter carrier to bring this to me?, you may ask. You may not have asked, but if you really would like to know, please see below.

The new issue is filled with toasty words gathered together in cozy sentences for your winter reading pleasure, best enjoyed with a steamy mug of malty Assam tea with lots of milk and honey, unless you prefer coffee, or perhaps a glass of claret after dinner. Here’s what you have to look forward to in this issue, in addition to the serene painting by Megan Moore that graces the cover. Read our Q&A with the artist here. As usual, we’ll post some of these articles on the Web in the coming weeks, but to read them all, you’ll need a paper-and-ink copy.

Icy Evocation
Recalling a snowless winter when the whole lake was ours to skate

On the Fly
Counting the birds at Christmastime

Squirrel Tales
How those wily urban rodents get by

Cemeteries Unburied
During a symposium at the Hennepin County History Museum, fans of local history and cemeteries swap stories and preservation tips

Woodland Chatter
Jack Armstrong goes for a walk in the bird sanctuary and gets an earful

Life List
St. Paul Poet James Silas Rogers recalls his favorite bird guide

Wild in the City
Encountering a coyote in an urban woods

Don’t Panic
An early Minneapolis banker survives the Panic of 1873 by growing flowers

Books Forever
Electronic media may rival print, but the book arts live on

Plus . . .
Our cover artist answers a few questions, the Minnehaha Falls glen gets a makeover, book reviews, crow phenology, selected winter events, more book reviews, a cartoon that howls at the moon, and a civic poem

How to get -- or give -- MOQ

MOQ is sold for $4 at local co-ops and independent book stores via Don Olson Distribution. If your favorite co-op or bookstore doesn’t sell it, please ask them to request it from Don.

Or subscribe and your letter carrier will bring it to right to you. Purchase a gift subscription for someone else and their letter carrier will bring it directly to them. See how that works? We’ll fulfill all new subscription requests within a day of receiving them, and include a little note with gift subscriptions letting the recipient know that this is a gift from you so they won’t be confused as to why they’re getting this quirky little magazine in the mail all of sudden.

The winter edition always includes the new version of the Useful Calendar printed on letter-size cardstock. You may also download your own free copy as a pdf from our Web site, just click on the yellow ad on the right to go to the download page and print it out on your choice of paper.

Send your subscription request along with a check for $15 (or send $4 for a single issue) to Minneapolis Observer, 5353 44th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55417. Or subscribe online.

(If you have any difficulty with the online subscription form, please e-mail me, Sharon, sharon@mplsobserver.com, and I’ll send you a link to subscribe via PayPal.)

(PayPal will not automatically renew your subscription. We’ll send a reminder with your last issue and then it’s up to you to renew, or not.)

"Winter Tree," by Megan Moore is featured on the cover of our winter issue.