"§ñühwö£f" wrote in message news:jsd0lt$ns1$1...@dont-email.me...
>
> Wanderer wrote:
> > That's actually a good story, Snuh. You should've posted it in the
> > fur.stories section, but oh well...
> >
> Well thanks :) Not familiar with that forum/group...but since you liked it
> heres another...
It's part of the alt.fur hierarchy on Critternet. Not a bad story this time
either, but it feels a bit rushed... especially once you get past the
halfway point and the spelling goes to pieces. A few minor problems and
corrections as I proofread:
>
> -Star Party-
>
> I had decided to take a little camping trip to the Las Cienegas ranch to
> enjoy the wonderful spring temps in the desert. I got to the park, which
> had been purchased by the Bureau of Land Management and set aside as a
> state-managed park.
Las Cienegas is a National Conservation Area, so it's run by the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM), a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
> Although it was also a historic working cattle ranch. There are a variety
> of rather unique habitats that set it aside from the rest of southern
> Arizona. For one thing; marshlands.
> Driving to a ridge near the Winchester mountains, I found a nice little
> primitive campsite and set up my tent. The sun was setting and I decided
> to have a good run as wolf among the chaparral down back the way I'd
> driven which would lead me to La Cienega creek. The creek area isn't your
> typical mesquite bosque with giant old mesquite trees and a usually dry
> riverbed. The creek is a permanent source of water flowing south to north
> all the way through the park. Just on the other side of the creek, to the
> west, was an area favored by groups who enjoyed the respite from the light
> pollution of Tucson. I noticed a couple of mini-vans parked in the
> clearing so I sat on my haunches and watched them for a bit. The people
> were milling about with red-lensed flashlights and star charts.
> Occasionally one would point at an area of the sky and suggest that as a
> starting point for their night's astronomical explorations.
> Soon, three more mini-vans had arrived and more people began to set up
> their various telescopes. Most were using computer-controlled Newtonian
> reflectors, but there were a few refractors as well.
> I crossed the creek and trotted up behind the wagon-train like circle of
> vehicles. Hiding in the shadows, I heard them talk about their
> astronomical targets for the evening.
>
> "We've only got an hour before the moon rises and spoils everything", said
> a rather chubby nerd who smelled of cheese puffs.
>
> "Oh I know, but it's only going to be a first quarter disk, so we can just
> turn the scopes towards the west for a while", said a girl with straight
> lank hair, smelling like she'd lost her deodorant.
>
> I amused myself watching various of the desert insects bumble about
> hunting for food. If the nerd-herd had known how many tarantulas and
> scorpions were walking around they might have left. As it was, whenever
> one of the fluorescent to me, scorpions got too close I'd flick it away.
Um, scorpions fluoresce in black light -- UV. Unless you're a were-bug, a
were-chicken or a were-reindeer, you can't see UV.
> A coyote walked up and stole a ham-like sandwich from an open cooler left
> unattended behind one of the mini-vans. I chuckled silently to myself and
> watched amusedly as the nerds tried to find m-109 in Ursa Major.
Sorry, but I took Astronomy in college. That's M109, M for Messier. Yes,
even for the group of galaxies instead of the single galaxy.
> With the help of the ones using the computer-controlled scopes, soon the
> whole group were gazing contentedly at the spiral galaxy.
> I looked towards the east and noticed the first shine from the moon over
> the mountains. In a few more minutes, the star partiers had noticed it
> too.
>
> Cheesy Puff boy looked upset; "Dammit, there's the moon. Why's it always
> have to spoil a night's viewing?"
>
> "Well, we could always look at that instead", said the girl with the heady
> aroma.
>
> "Why bother? It's not like there's anything special about it."
>
> Of course I was surprised by Cheesy Puff's statement and couldn't abide
> it. So I changed back and then walked up to discuss the moon with him.
> Perhaps I could persuade him to see things differently?
Clothing? They could remember it for werewolf stories in ancient Rome, you
should be able to remember it here.
>
> "How can you say it's not special? There must be some reason it's been in
> so many poems. Plus we sent men there to walk on it." I smiled.
>
> He jumped a bit and probably figured I had come with one of the other
> mini-van loads of sky watchers, as he didn't seem concerned that he didn't
> know me.
>
> "But it's been mapped and measured. We have a laser reflector and other
> bits of early space exploration there. I'm not impressed", he sneered.
>
> I grabbed his shoulder and squeezed it, "There's always more to be
> discovered if you keep your mind open to new possibilities", I grinned.
>
> He looked a bit afraid, not that I wasn't used to that, and squirmed out
> of my grasp. "Ow! Don't pinch, geeze!"
>
> I mumbled my apologies and strolled around casually chatting with the
> nerds and gazing through various telescopes for a few more minutes.
> Growing bored of them I decided to wander off and go chase some javelina.
> As soon as I changed I smelled it on my paw; blood. It appeared that I'd
> managed to scratch Cheesy Puff and draw a tiny bit of blood.
>
> Well, maybe now he'd have a better appreciation for the moon.
>
You need to set up the scratch, you know. Even if it's just mentioning that
your nails are long and ragged when they're no longer claws, you need some
setup for scratching him through his clothes while in human form.
You seem to have gotten a bit rushed, there at the end. Your spelling and
punctuation got pretty erratic. Are you all right?
Yours with some concern,
The proofreading,
Wanderer
P.S.: Yes, I noticed the South Park reference. I'm just not a fan.