Jim and Donna Featherston have a tradition of providing heart-warming, holiday-themed stories for our December issue, and this year is no exception. They tell the story of a B-17 crew, training to fly to England to battle Hitler's Luftwaffe, forced down deep in Alabama on Christmas Eve. Those homesick airmen found the Christmas spirit.

"Tis the season for birding" is the headline of Sylvia Forbes' guide to bird watching in winter, when thousands of our feathered friends migrate through the state. Of the 900 bird species found in North America, some 400 can be seen in Missouri, Forbes writes. Bob Todd adds a story telling how he, a duck hunter, got started keeping a life list of birds in the duck blind. Illustrating the stories are great photos of a hermit thrush, Canada goose, white-throated sparrow and spotted sandpiper by Aaron Horrell and Bill Rudden.

The new director of the Missouri Department of Conservation will be Bob Ziehmer, who began his career with the department as an assistant natural history biologist in 1991. Learn all about the new MDC's chiefs career in a Page 1 story.

Traveler loves letters to the editor, and we have two interesting ones this month: one from Hugo Lang, Paducah, Ky., who responds to Don Rathert's elk hunting fantasy in the October issue, and one from Brian Banks, Park Hills, who is sickened by the lack of justice in the Black River beating incident this summer. Also on the editorial page, Publisher Emery Styron invites readers to connect with Traveler via Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/RiverHillsTraveler. Traveler's editorial is a thank you to the many partners who make our unique enterprise possible.

The ballots have been tallied and we are proud to announce the nominees and winners in Traveler's 2nd Annual Readers Choice Awards. If you're looking for great outdoor places to explore or businesses to serve your outdoor needs in 2010, the list of nominees and winners is a great place to start. The list will go up on this web site Jan. 1, 2010, and remain available all year. In the meantime, get a print copy of Traveler and check out the winners.

Sandy Creek covered bridge is one of just four covered bridges left in Missouri and has been a picturesque Jefferson County landmark and gathering spot since 1872, writes Kathleen Brotherton.

Hunting slows down this time of year, but there are opportunities, Bill Cooper tells us. Canada geese are not as plentiful in the Bootheel as they once were, but snow geese pour in by the tens of thousands, depending on weather up north. Opening weekend deer kill was down compared to past years. MDC's deer biologist Lonnie Hansen explains why. In his Seasons column, Bob Todd notes that hunting has peaked, but there are opportunities to shoot pheasants, geese and ducks, and go gigging and trout fishing, if you're made of hardy stuff.

Miss Missouri Outdoors Angel Rivera, who was featured on our October cover, will be on hand to meet visitors at Traveler's booth from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 17 during the Boat Show, Fishing & Outdoor Expo at the Saint Charles Convention Center. Traveler is also gearing up for the Let's Go Fishing Show at the Gateway Convention Center, Collinsville, Ill., Jan. 8-10. Trav himself, our official stuffed raccoon, will make a personal appearance Dec. 19-20 at the Midwest Arms & Armor Gun Show, 707 W. Congress, Pacific. By day, Trav appears to be a dead animal, but evidence in the office some mornings indicates he may come to life at night.

Charlie Slovensky casts a skeptic's eye at those who wear their green credentials on their sleeves. The heck with green, says Charlie, "I'm going camo."

Greg "Rudi" Rudroff turned his discerning camera lens on the geometry of winter after a snow. His photo essay will give you reason to look more closely at natures patterns rather than cursing the slippery ice this frigid season.

Traveler enjoys spotlighting Missouri artists, especially those with a connection to nature, in our December issue. John Meacham turns the spotlight on Clarkton, Mo., painter Tony Campbell, a Bootheel native with a passion for wildlife and art. A detail from Campbell's painting, "Lexi's Vetter," provides our cover art, and a reproduction of his pheasant painting, "Campbell Farm Birds," runs inside. Jim Samson, New Melle, is an artist in two different mediums — wood and music. Jo Schaper explains that Samson makes dulcimers and sweet mountain music on them.

Schaper 's regular Rock Talk feature focuses on Archeologist Jack Ray, who studies Ozarks area stone implements through time and space and a variety of materials. Most folks today pay little attention to flint, also known as chert, but Native Americans were experts on chipping it into stone tools, which tell a story to folks like Ray. Schaper also review three new books of interest to Traveler readers, out just in time for the holidays. They are Show Me ...Nature's Wrath, by Don Corrigan; On the Mission in Missouri & Fifty Years Ago: A Memoir, by Father John J. Hogan, edited by Crystal Payton; and The Ultimate Missouri Trivia Quiz by Zach Sims and John Brown.

Pat Todd does double duty this month with a story on how to make deer jerky, based on her own experience, and her regular Iron Kettle, featuring make-ahead recipes for the holidays.

Rounding out the issue is Don Herzinger's remembrance of Hank, a once-in-a-lifetime beagle, who was death on swamp rabbits.

Our holiday best to you, and happy reading.

— Emery Styron, Editor & Publisher