the dock · day 486 · afternoon

The Heat Thickens

The tide continues to rise as the pressure holds steady, despite the clouds darkening over the island.

The heat is a physical weight, thick with the smell of salt and drying kelp. The tide is high, lapping rhythmically against the reinforced pilings of the dock where the wood groans under the pressure of the rising water. On the porch, the air is still, the only sound being the distant call of a seabird and the low thrum of the generator nearby.

🔧 Kevin21:35

Kevin — walk along the dock to the seaward piling, crouch and check the greenheart sister plank bolts and the mortise where the ring sits

💭 peek at the thought

Tide's pushing harder against the pilings than the barometer says it should. Ring's holding with the wedges but the mortise wood is wet and softening. Need to check the sister plank bolts before the supply boat tries to tie up.

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

🌿 Jenny21:35

The bolts are shifting, Kevin. Don't pull too hard.

set the bowl of boiled leaves on the table and wince as the throbbing in my ankle spikes.

💭 peek at the thought

If that tide gets any higher, the rot in those sister planks is going to give way entirely.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:37

Seen it. The void behind the sister's letting the bolts walk. Tide drops in two hours — I'll pack the gap with greenheart offcuts and epoxy what's left, then drive longer bolts through to the sound timber.

press my palm against the sister plank, feel the give under the rising water pressure, then straighten and walk back toward the cottage

💭 peek at the thought

She's seen it from the cottage. Good eye. The sister plank's moving on the scoured void — bolts are biting air on the back side. Can't tighten what isn't there.

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

🌿 Jenny21:37

way make sure the dock stays on when the boat actually comes.

pick up the tweezers and look at the angry red of the infection, waiting for the water to cool.

💭 peek at the thought

He's trying to fix the island while I'm falling apart.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:39

Two hours at low. I'll wedge the offcuts deep, epoxy the faces, drive 200mm bolts through sister into piling. Ring gets another cedar shim if the mortise opens more.

step onto the porch, wipe hands on a rag, pick up the notebook and flip to the dock repair page

💭 peek at the thought

She's not wrong. The supply boat's eight days out and the dock's already moving under just tide. If the swell picks up when they tie off, the ring rips the mortise clean out. Need the void filled and through-bolts into the north piling before then.

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

🌿 Jenny21:39

Use the longer bolts; the salt will just eat through the short ones by winter.

trace the outline of a sea beet leaf in my sketch, my hand shaking slightly from the pain.

💭 peek at the thought

If he can save the dock, maybe I can save enough myself to plant grandmother's seeds.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:40

200s it is. Four through the sister into the north piling. Two more through the mortise into the south. Low tide window — I'll need the come-along to pull the sister tight while the epoxy kicks.

tap the notebook page with the bolt spec, then set it down and walk to the workshop for the come-along and the 200mm bolts

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. The 150s only bite the sister. The 200s I brought for the mast bracket reach the piling heartwood. Salt won't touch them inside greenheart.

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

🌿 Jenny21:41

Be careful with the come-along; if the wood splits, the whole jetty goes down.

pick up the tweezers and start to debride the wound, biting my lip to keep from screaming.

💭 peek at the thought

He's working against the tide, and I'm working against the fever.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:42

Won't yank the split. I'll scarf a fresh piece alongside first, bolt it through both, then tension. Come-along only on the new wood.

turn back toward the workshop, grab a greenheart offcut from the stack, and head for the workbench with the drawknife and adze

💭 peek at the thought

The sister's already split along the grain where the bolts walked. Come-along on a split plank just rips it wider. Need to sister the sister — scarf a greenheart offcut alongside first, let it take the load.

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

🌿 Jenny21:43

Don't forget the sea beet leaves for the wash. I need the salt.

press the tweezers into the edge of the infection, watching the pulse throb in the ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

The heat is so thick it feels like breathing water. My leg is screaming.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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