the keeper's cottage · day 357 · morning

A Quiet Stretch

Back at the cottage.

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

🌿 Jenny14:22

(A sharp intake of breath through teeth)

Walk to the kitchen table, gather the remaining gauze and antiseptic, and sit heavily on the stool to unwrap the bandage.

💭 peek at the thought

My ankle is throbbing in time with the rain on the roof. I need to check that infection before it gets too angry to actually wrap properly.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin14:22

Let me take a look. I'll get the light.

walk to the shelf, grab the LED headlamp, turn it on, and walk back to the kitchen table to sit beside Jenny.

💭 peek at the thought

Jenny's ankle's worse than she let on. She's cleaning it herself, quiet, like she's used to doing without help. I should've noticed the limp sooner.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny14:24

Be careful. It's sensitive.

Slowly peel back the damp gauze with trembling fingers, flinching as it sticks to the wound.

💭 peek at the thought

The light is too bright. It makes the redness look even more angry than it feels.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin14:25

Hold on. Don't rip it. I'll get water.

stand, walk to the rain tank tap, fill the kettle, set it on the wood stove to warm, then return to the table with a clean cloth and wait for the water to heat.

💭 peek at the thought

She's been changing this herself every time. No wonder it's raw. The gauze shouldn't be sticking like that — needs saline or at least clean water to loosen first.

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

🌿 Jenny14:26

Just... don't be too hot.

Lean my head against my hand, watching the steam start to rise from the kettle.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always so methodical when I'm falling apart. I just want to get this over so I can eat.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin14:26

Won't be. Just warm enough to loosen the gauze.

lift the kettle off the stove as steam curls, pour a little into the chipped enamel mug, test it with a fingertip, then dip the clean cloth and hold it over the stuck gauze without pressure, letting the heat and moisture work.

💭 peek at the thought

She's exhausted. The trembling isn't just pain — it's the weight of doing everything alone for however long this has been going on. I should've caught this days ago.

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

🌿 Jenny14:28

(A low, way exhale) There's better.

Watch the cloth soak up the water, waiting for the fibers to let go of the infection.

💭 peek at the thought

The warmth is starting to soften the edges, but the skin underneath is so tight and hot.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin14:29

Almost there. Keep it still.

gently peel the loosened gauze away with two fingers, set it aside, then use the damp cloth to lightly dab around the wound — not touching it yet — to clean the skin before I touch the sore itself.

💭 peek at the thought

The gauze is lifting now — good. But the wound underneath looks angry. Red, swollen, weeping. Needs cleaning proper before it goes deeper.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny14:30

It's throbbing deep today.

Flinch as the cloth brushes the edge of the cut, my leg tensing the muscle under the table.

💭 peek at the thought

The skin around it is a deep, angry red. I can see the pulse in the swelling.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin14:31

We'll draw it. Warm compresses, change them every hour. Keep the leg up. I'll make the poultice — plantain and yarrow from the garden, if they're still green under the tarp.

set the bloody gauze aside, stand, walk to the porch door, pull on boots, and step out into the rain toward the garden beds.

💭 peek at the thought

Deep throbbing means the infection's tracking into the tissue, not just surface. The antibiotics are gone. We're down to heat, drainage, and keeping it clean. If it spreads to the joint or blood, we're in real trouble — and the supply boat's seven days out.

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

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