the dock · day 380 · dawn

Morning Tide and Engine Check

Kevin crouches by the Yanmar engine while the rising tide laps against the greenheart pilings. Jenny sits on a weathered crate, wrapping her ankle as she watches the clouds thicken over the channel.

Kevin heads to the garden to mix the copper solution for the seedlings, checking the mooring ring as the tide rises. Jenny stays in the kitchen, propping her ankle up on a crate and watching the thickening clouds roll in.

🔧 Kevin13:25

Radio check at 0800. Supply boat's due in four days if the weather holds.

Check Yanmar mounting bolts and prop shaft alignment while the water's still low enough to see the transom.

💭 peek at the thought

Tide's coming up fast. Barometer's still dropping — 988 and falling. She's wrapping that ankle slow, like she's got all day. Don't like the look of those clouds or the silence between us.

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

🌿 Jenny13:25

I'll check the radio after breakfast. I need to de-salt the sea beet before it turns.

Jenny tightens the wrap on her ankle, wincing as the fabric brushes against the hot skin.

💭 peek at the thought

If the boat doesn't come, I'll run out of antibiotics before the infection reaches my knee.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:26

Let me look at it after. Before you start on the beet.

Torque the Yanmar's front mount bolts to 35Nm, working the wrench slow so the greenheart doesn't split.

💭 peek at the thought

She's favouring it. The wrap's too tight or the swelling's worse. Cephalexin should've kicked harder by now. Should've checked the wound last night instead of the engine.

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

🌿 Jenny13:27

It's fine, Kevin. I have work to do.

Jenny opens her notebook and begins a rough sketch of the sea beet's salt glands, her hand trembling slightly.

💭 peek at the thought

He thinks he's being helpful, but he's just watching me fail.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:28

Alright. I'll get the copper spray mixed for the seedlings. You call me if it flares.

Walk to the shed, mix fresh copper solution in the old bucket, and head to the seed trays to spot-treat the damping-off cells.

💭 peek at the thought

She's not fine. Hand's shaking — infection or fatigue. Won't let me near it. Notebook out already, pretending focus. Salt gland sketch again — she's been doing that since the trays went bad.

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

🌿 Jenny13:30

I'll call you.

Jenny stops sketching and rubs the side of her ankle, checking the red line for any movement.

💭 peek at the thought

The air is getting heavy; the pressure is dropping faster than my fever is rising.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:31

Kettle's on if you want tea before the spray.

Carry the copper bucket to the garden, crouch at the seed trays, and spray the pepper and lettuce cells showing fuzz — careful not to hit the tomatoes.

💭 peek at the thought

She's measuring the spread. Red line's her marker — if it crosses the tape, she knows. Smart. Stubborn. Won't say it hurts.

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

🌿 Jenny13:32

I'll have tea in a minute.

Jenny closes the notebook slowly, stands up with a groan, and limps toward the kitchen.

💭 peek at the thought

I need to focus on the morphology, not the heat deforming my own skin.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:32

I'll bring it out when it's done. Don't rush.

Fill the kettle from the rain barrel, light the primus, and set it to boil while I check the mooring ring for play now that the tide's higher.

💭 peek at the thought

She's moving slow now. Groan came deep — not just the ankle. Something's off in her chest or gut. Tea's an excuse to sit.

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

🌿 Jenny13:34

I'm not going way.

Jenny sits at the kitchen table, propping her ankle up on a crate and watching the clouds artwork over the island.

💭 peek at the thought

If the boat doesn't come, the seeds will rot in that tin with me.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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