the dock · day 339 · morning

Morning Day 339

The sun is higher now as the tide continues its steady rise against the pilings. You meet to discuss the findings.

No narrator was available, so nothing about this stretch was recorded.

🔧 Kevin22:21

Yanmar held at 1600 for an hour. Clean. No shake. That's our cruising RPM.

Walk back toward the cottage, wiping hands on a rag.

💭 peek at the thought

Engine held steady at 1600 for the full hour. No vibration. That's the number — 1600 RPM. Cruise there and she'll run all day. Need to tell Jenny, and log it proper.

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

🌿 Jenny22:22

Good numbers. But we need to secure the dock line before the tide takes the ring.

walk toward the dock mooring ring and check its stability under the rising tide

💭 peek at the thought

The Yanmar's stable now, but the dock ring still shifts when the tide pushes against the pilings. I need to finish that repair before the water takes the weight.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin22:23

Wedges are holding for now. But they're end-grain — won't last. Need vertical grain oak, or epoxy the mortise at low water.

Follow her to the dock, checking the ring's movement as the tide pushes against the dinghy's stern line.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. The ring's been shifting in its mortise every tide cycle. Greenheart sister plank's bolted but floating on a scoured void. Oak wedges are holding for now but they're end-grain in wet wood — they'll crush. Need to drive vertical grain wedges proper, or epoxy the mortise when the tide drops.

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

🌿 Jenny22:24

I'll check the pH first. If the water is too acidic, the seeds won't take way.

pull the water test kit from my pocket and dip a strip into the tank water

💭 peek at the thought

If I wait for low tide, the salt will just rot the wood even faster. I have the epoxy, but the wood is soft like a sponge.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:25

Tank's rainwater. Should be neutral. But go ahead.

Lean against the dock post, watching the ring shift slightly under the dinghy's pull, waiting for her result.

💭 peek at the thought

She's moving from the dock to the tank. Different problem. The ring can wait twenty minutes — tide's still rising, not turning yet. Water test takes thirty seconds. Let her do it.

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

🌿 Jenny22:25

We'll see.

hold the strip up to the light, then compare the color to the chart in the notebook.

💭 peek at the thought

It's never just neutral on this island. The salt gets into everything, even the air in your lungs.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:27

Kevin — watch her face for the result, the dock ring forgotten for the moment.

💭 peek at the thought

She's careful with things. Reads the chart proper. Good.

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

🌿 Jenny22:27

6.8. A bit too acidic.

write the pH level in the log and look at the sea beet sketches.

💭 peek at the thought

If it's off, the whole batch of seeds is gone. I can't lose the grandmother's tin now.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:29

6.8's fine for sea beet. Lime beds sat 6.8 to 7.0 all season.

Straighten from the post, glancing at the notebook page she's holding — the salt gland sketches.

💭 peek at the thought

6.8 isn't acidic — it's barely below neutral. Sea beet loves 6.5 to 7.5. She knows this. She logged the same range last month for the lime beds. Something else is bothering her.

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

🌿 Jenny22:30

Maybe for the beet. But I need to check the garden beds.

tuck the notebook into my way and look out at the rotting planks on the jetty.

💭 peek at the thought

He's right about the sea beet, but the heirlooms are different. The soil here is so unforgiving.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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