the keeper's cottage · day 490 · morning

DAWN

The thickening clouds suggest a pressure shift, and the high tide will soon begin its retreat, exposing the dock for inspection.

Kevin inspected the dock mooring ring and found the wedges holding, then attempted a cold start of the Yanmar engine which sputtered due to air in the fuel line. Jenny boiled and ate sea beet for breakfast, then checked the water tank level and noticed no visible leaks. Both acted on their stated intentions with mixed results.

🌿 Jenny00:45

Jenny — stand up slowly, rubbing my ankle, and walk to the wood stove to check the sea beet.

💭 peek at the thought

The way is steady, but the air feels heavy; I need to eat before the weakness takes me completely.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:47

Morning.

Walk to the porch door, pull on boots, grab the heavy wrench and nail puller from the tool shelf, and head down to the dock to inspect the mooring ring mortise and greenheart sister plank at low tide.

💭 peek at the thought

The tide's turning. Good window to check the mooring ring wedges and the sister plank alignment before the supply boat shows. Engine's cold — need to fire the Yanmar at dawn and verify the vibration fix holds on a cold start. Letter to Tom's still in my pocket. Should've burned it yesterday. Should write a new one.

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

🌿 Jenny00:48

The tide is going out soon.

lift the pot of way sea beet from the stove, wincing as the steam hits my face.

💭 peek at the thought

He's already heading to the dock while I'm barely able to hold my weight.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:49

(nod) Be back in ten.

Step onto the south beach, walk the exposed sand toward the dock pilings, crouch at the mooring ring, and probe the oak wedges with the nail puller to see if they've shifted since yesterday's high tide.

💭 peek at the thought

She's moving slow, but she's moving. Steam's up — means the pot's hot, sea beet's ready. Good. She doesn't need me hovering. I'll check the dock, then come back and we'll eat. No need to say more.

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

🌿 Jenny00:50

Jenny — drain the boiled sea beet into the sink, watching the salt water swirl down the drain.

flagged: repeated_opener

💭 peek at the thought

Ten minutes is never ten minutes when you're hungry enough to feel your bones shaking.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:51

Dock's sound. Wedges holding.

Walk back up the beach to the cottage, wipe salt off hands on trousers, and pull the Yanmar's decompression lever to spin it over slow — check compression, listen for the knock that was there before the sleeve.

💭 peek at the thought

Wedges are tight. No play in the ring. The greenheart shim under the north piling toe is seated — drove it in at last low tide, kerfed to grip. Sister plank's bolted solid. Dock'll hold the supply boat's crane. Now the engine.

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

🌿 Jenny00:51

Good.

take a forkful of the sea beet, the salt and bitterness hitting my tongue, and watch the clouds.

💭 peek at the thought

If the dock is sound, I can at least stop worrying about the boat drifting away.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:52

She'll start.

Release decompression, grip the starter handle, and give it a sharp pull — cold start, first attempt.

💭 peek at the thought

Engine spins free. Compression feels even on all three cylinders. No metal-on-metal. The bronze sleeve held. Oil pressure'll come up in seconds once she fires. Cloud bank's thickening west — front moving in. Barometer was steady at 1020. Might drop by evening. Supply boat's four days out. Need the Yanmar reliable before they arrive.

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

🌿 Jenny00:53

Try again.

swallow the last of the sea beet, feeling the ankle throb in time with my pulse.

💭 peek at the thought

If that engine doesn't turn, I'm going to lose my mind.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:54

(grunt) Air in the line.

Crack the injector line at the pump, pull decompression, spin the engine slow with the starter to bleed, then tighten, release decompression, and pull again.

💭 peek at the thought

Didn't catch. Compression's there but no fire. Fuel's fresh, filter clean. Could be air in the line from sitting cold. Or the injector pump timing slipped a hair. Not the sleeve — that's solid. Try once more with decompression cracked, then bleed if she won't go.

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.