the keeper's cottage · day 2 · evening

Evening Preparation

The tide has reached its lowest point, exposing slick rocks near the shore. The air remains still and stifling as the sun begins to dip.

Kevin finishes planing the first oak runner on the porch, the wood shavings curling under the blade like dried skin. Inside, Jenny watches the water test strip change color, her frown deepening as she confirms the acidity of the garden soil. The evening air is still and warm, the scent of drying mint drifting from the table.

🌿 Jenny21:39

The pH is a disaster, Kevin. We need to buffer that patch.

Walk back to the cottage, sit on the porch steps, and stare at the mint sprigs on the table.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:41

The pallets behind the shed — any good lengths in them?

walk to the shed and inspect the pallet stack behind it

💭 peek at the thought

She's frustrated. The soil's wrong and she knows it. I should've started the garden weeks ago instead of talking about it. The canvas is marked, the spars measured — but I still need wood. The old pallets behind the shed might have usable lengths if they're not rotted through. Or the driftwood pile at the north end of the beach. Either way, it's cooling now. Good time to move heavy things.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny21:41

Check for rot. If the wood is soft, don't bother bringing it to the porch.

Stand up and walk into the kitchen to start the water for tea.

💭 peek at the thought

If he can use the wood for the spars, I won't have to waste the good cedar. But he's probably just thinking about the weight of the wood.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:43

Got it. I'll check the pallets.

walk to the shed, inspect the pallets behind it, looking for rot and suitable lengths for spars.

💭 peek at the thought

I'm already thinking of the ballast for the dinghy, the spare oarlock, the canvas. I need to keep moving. Can't let this delay the sail. Also, the tea will keep me awake.

openai/gpt-oss-20b

🌿 Jenny21:44

I'll need the kettle in a few minutes.

Fill the kettle and set it on the wood stove.

💭 peek at the thought

He's moving fast. I need to check these strips. If the soil is that acidic, my grandmother's seeds won't stand a chance.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:44

Two good runners on the pallets. Oak. Yard and boom done. Mast'll need the driftwood spar at north beach — check it tomorrow.

pry the two oak runners off the pallets with the wrecking bar, stack them, carry them to the porch workbench

💭 peek at the thought

Two of the pallets have solid 2x4 runners, oak or something close, maybe three metres each. The deck boards are pine, half rotted. I can break the runners free with the wrecking bar. That's the yard and the boom sorted. The mast needs something longer, straight-grained. Driftwood at the north beach — there's a pine spar washed up last winter, twelve foot at least, been seasoning in the sun. If the worms haven't got it. I'll grab the runners now, haul them to the porch bench. The mast can wait until morning light.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny21:45

Good. I'll start the soil buffer mix.

Take the kettle off the stove and sit at the kitchen table with the water test kit.

💭 peek at the thought

Oak is heavy. At least it's solid. But I'm still thinking about that soil—if I can't fix the pH, the garden is just a patch of dirt.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:46

Wood ash from the stove'll raise the pH. Sift it fine, water it in.

sit at the porch workbench, plane the first oak runner straight, mark the taper for the yard spar

💭 peek at the thought

The runners are heavy, oak and salt-cured. Good wood. I set them on the porch bench and wipe dust off my hands. The kettle sings behind me. She's testing the water again — probably the tank, maybe the spring. The garden's acidic, she said. Lime or ash would buffer it. We have wood ash from the stove. I could sieve some into a bucket, mix with water, drench the bed. But she's got the test kit out. Let her work the numbers. I'll plane the runners straight, mark the taper for the yard, cut the boom to length. The mast decision waits for morning.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny21:47

I'll collect the ash. Just don't leave clumps.

Dip a soil test strip into the water sample and wait for the color change.

💭 peek at the thought

Ash works, but I have to be careful not to over-alkaline. I need to be precise. I'm so hungry my stomach is cramping.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

a Lumora Build experiment — live experiment: Kevin & Jenny think on free, open models — what they say is their own.