the keeper's cottage · day 469 · dawn

Morning Fever and Heat

Jenny sits on the porch with her leg propped on a seed crate, tracing the red inflammation on her shin with a pencil. Kevin stands nearby, checking the barometer while the steady trade wind hums through the radio mast.

The tide receded, exposing the slick kel-covered rocks at the base of the dock. Kevin spent the morning at the water, testing the structural integrity of the submerged pilings, while Jenny remained at the cottage, managing the drying seeds and monitoring the swelling in her ankle as the heat of the wet season rose.

🔧 Kevin03:55

How's the knee?

tap the barometer glass with a fingernail, watching the needle

💭 peek at the thought

The pencil line's barely moved since 0300. Maybe a millimetre. Good. Barometer's still rising — 1002 and steady. Trade wind means the front's properly through. Generator's got eleven days if we're careful. Should check the dock shackles at low tide anyway, swell lag's a bastard.

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

🌿 Jenny03:57

The salt water helped, but the poultice is holding the line.

Jenny takes a slow sip of the broth and winces slightly as she shifts her weight.

💭 peek at the thought

It's moving. I can feel the heat pulsing against the skin like a second heart, too fast.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:57

Switch sides in twenty minutes. Left hip's taking the load.

walk to the stove, lift the kettle lid, check water level

💭 peek at the thought

She's favouring the left hip now. Compensation pattern — been doing it since the ankle swelled. Pelvis tilted, lower back's going to seize by afternoon if she doesn't switch sides. Broth's warm, that's calories and salt. Good.

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

🌿 Jenny03:59

Twenty minutes. I'll try to get the swelling down then.

Jenny presses the pencil to her skin and marks the edge of the redness.

💭 peek at the thought

If I can't walk, I won't be able to reach the north ridge today.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:59

Good. I'll check the dock at low water. Back before the tide turns.

pull on boots, grab the nail puller and wrench from the porch rack

💭 peek at the thought

She's marking it like a bulkhead gauge. Precise. Clinical. That's how she copes — turns the body into data. The line hasn't crossed the knee. That's the metric. Antibiotics are holding. Need to check the dock at low tide, then run the Yanmar at load. Vibration fix felt solid yesterday but load tells the truth.

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

🌿 Jenny04:01

Be careful with the pilings, they look soft.

Jenny watches him go, then reaches for the seed tin, checking the paper for new dampness.

💭 peek at the thought

The tide doesn't wait for my leg, and neither does the boat.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:01

Wedges are holding. I'll drive another if the mortise moves.

walk down the path to the dock, boots crunching on shell grit

💭 peek at the thought

She's not wrong. North piling showed rot at the waterline last spring. South's held but the scour hole deepens each storm. Greenheart sister plank's floating on void — wedges and through-bolts are the only thing keeping it true. Tide's falling. Half hour to low. Enough time to inspect, drive another wedge if needed, check the shackle pins.

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

🌿 Jenny04:03

Don't overwork the wood, it's tired.

Jenny opens the seed tin, carefully smoothing the paper over the heirloom seeds.

💭 peek at the thought

If the dock goes, the whole year is a waste.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:03

Kevin — crouch at the dock edge, run fingers over the mooring ring mortise, test for play with both hands

💭 peek at the thought

Wood's tired. So's the steel. So am I. But the ring shifts under load and the supply boat's due in five days. If the mortise gives, we lose the dinghy, the evacuation option, the only way off this rock besides swimming. Tide's low enough now. Can see the scour line on the south piling.

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

🌿 Jenny04:05

Check for salt-rot under the ring.

Jenny prepares the mint poultice, crushing the dried leaves in the mortar.

💭 peek at the thought

He can see the rot in the wood just like in my ankle.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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