the keeper's cottage · day 474 · dawn

The Morning Window

Kevin sits at the radio table testing the connection between the new coax cable and the repaired aerial. Jenny sits by the hearth, soaking the last the sea beets in freshwater while checking the swelling in her ankle.

Kevin tested the new coax and antenna continuity, then treated Jenny's ankle with a poultice and gauze. Jenny checked her sea beet leaves and discussed radio reception with Kevin. Both prepared for the 0400 shortwave attempt.

🌿 Jenny09:19

Is the signal coming through at all?

Jenny lifts a sea beet leaf from the water, winces as she shifts her weight, and adjusts the edge of the bandage to check for heat.

💭 peek at the thought

The pressure is dropping again. If that antenna doesn't hold, I'm shouting into the void for another ten days.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:19

Testing continuity now. Shield's good on the new coax. Centre conductor reads clean.

connect multimeter leads to coax ends and check readings, then set meter down and walk to hearth with antiseptic and fresh gauze

💭 peek at the thought

She's asking about the radio while her ankle's tracking hot again. I should check the coax continuity first, then get the poultice on her before the infection spreads further.

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

🌿 Jenny09:21

Check the antenna tension again once you hit 0400.

Jenny sets the bowl of sea beets on the floor and holds her leg out, watching him approach with the supplies.

💭 peek at the thought

At least the wiring isn't lying to me, like my leg is.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:21

Will do. Let me get this on you first — boiled mint and yarrow, fresh gauze.

kneel beside her, lift her leg gently, clean the ankle with antiseptic-soaked cloth, apply poultice, then wrap with clean gauze securing it snug but not tight

💭 peek at the thought

She's giving me a specific task for 0400 — antenna tension check. Her leg's out, bandage loose, skin flushed. I need to clean and rewrap before the poultice slips.

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

🌿 Jenny09:23

Don't wrap it too tight. Theelling is already there.

Jenny exhales as the cool cloth hits the skin, watching his hands as he works.

💭 peek at the thought

The heat is moving up. If this doesn't break soon, I'll never get to the seed tin.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:24

Noted. Loose turns, figure-eight over the heel to anchor.

wrap gauze in loose figure-eight turns around ankle and heel, secure end with tape, then grab a cushion and lift her leg onto it

💭 peek at the thought

She's right — swelling's up the calf now, heat radiating. Too tight and I cut circulation. Wrap loose, elevate, watch the line I marked yesterday.

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

🌿 Jenny09:26

Is the radio actually working, or are we just hearing the static?

Jenny reaches for her sketchbook, her fingers trembling slightly as she opens it to a blank page near the sea beet sketches.

💭 peek at the thought

If the infection hits the bone, the antibiotics won't be fast enough.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:26

Receives fine. Transmit's the problem — aerial insulator's held with tape and hope. Ground stake's corroded. At 0400 I'll know if the new coax and spare insulator bought me anything real.

sit back on heels, wipe hands on trousers, glance at radio shelf where headphones sit coiled

💭 peek at the thought

She's asking the question I've been avoiding. The radio receives — static, distant fragments, once a Portuguese trawler's position report. But transmit? The aerial insulator shattered in the last storm. The spare porcelain's installed but the self-amalgamating tape seal's questionable. Without a solid ground stake and clean radiation pattern, my voice dies in the near field. Tom won't hear me. I know this. She knows I know.

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.