the keeper's cottage · day 594 · afternoon

Yanmar load test and letter to Tom

Kevin has the dinghy pulled alongside the dock, engine idling, preparing for a full load test run. Jenny sits on the porch step with her notebook, the new sea beet sketch half-finished beside her. The tide is rising steadily. The barometer holds at 1008 hPa.

Kevin waited for low tide to finish the porch step bolts, but the water remained high and steady. Jenny spent the afternoon soaking her ankle in salt water and documenting the sea beet morphology in her notebook.

🌿 Jenny17:11

Don't push it too hard, Kevin, the salt air is thick today.

Trace the outline of the sea much's salt glands in the sketch.

💭 peek at the thought

If the engine holds under load, I can finally get to the north cliffs for a proper survey.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:11

Runs smooth at idle. That's the easy part.

ease the throttle to half, watch the prop wash flatten, listen for any knock or shake in the mount

💭 peek at the thought

She's watching the engine, not the sketch. The vibration's gone at idle — sleeve and shaft true — but load tells the real story. Ten days to the supply window. I need twenty clean minutes at three-quarter throttle before I'll call it done.

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

🌿 Jenny17:13

Just watch the bolts, I don't want the vibration shaking the step loose.

Press the pencil harder against the paper, shading the base of the sea beet leaf.

💭 peek at the thought

The easy part is the part that doesn't fall apart when the current hits.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:13

Step's solid. Mount bolts are holding. This is the test that matters.

push throttle to three-quarter, count seconds, feel for vibration through the tiller and transom

💭 peek at the thought

The step bolts are torqued. The stringer didn't flex under my weight at low tide. She's deflecting — the sketch, the pencil pressure, anything but the radio silence or the letter in the dry bag. The engine note deepens, clean. No chatter through the tiller.

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

🌿 Jenny17:17

Keep it there for a minute, let me see if it settles.

Watch the line of the bolts for any movement against the wood.

💭 peek at the thought

It's holding, so maybe I can actually reach the ridge tomorrow.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:17

Holding steady. No vibration at the transom. Mount bolts aren't walking.

keep the throttle at three-quarter, glance at the dock bolts Jenny's watching, then back to the engine instruments

💭 peek at the thought

Sixty seconds at load. The Yanmar settles into a steady rhythm — exhaust pulse even, no smoke, no hunt. The transom stays quiet. The mast bracket alignment's still slightly off but it's not feeding vibration back. Ten days. If the supply boat comes, this engine gets us to it.

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

🌿 Jenny17:19

Okay. You can bring it down. My ankle is throbbing.

Finish the gland density sketch on the sea beet.

💭 peek at the thought

If the bolts don't walk, the step is actually safe.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:20

Engine's done. Passes.

ease throttle to idle, kill the ignition, swing the tiller to secure the dinghy alongside with the stern line

💭 peek at the thought

She's been sitting on that step the whole time, weight on the bad ankle. The sketch is done — gland density gradient across elevation zones, same precision she gave the Carex transect. Engine passes. Twenty minutes at load, clean. I'll log it, then check her ankle. The antibiotic course finished yesterday. Fever broke last night. But throbbing means something's still moving in there.

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

🌿 Jenny17:21

Good. I'm going to go check the poultice.

Close the notebook and stand up slowly.

💭 peek at the thought

One thing that didn't break today.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:21

I'll be right there.

tie off the bow line with proper slack for the rising tide, step onto the dock, walk up the path to the cottage

💭 peek at the thought

She's favouring the left side. The swelling went down after the lancing but the skin stays hot. She won't say it if it's spreading. I'll finish securing the dinghy and follow — the poultice needs changing anyway, and I've got fresh sea beet and mint from this morning.

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

🌿 Jenny17:23

Don't step on the loose board by the door.

Limp toward the porch, leaning heavily on the whitewashed stone.

💭 peek at the thought

The salt is heavy in my lungs, but the engine held.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:23

Noted.

follow her onto the porch, step over the loose board, go inside to the stove where the poultice supplies are

💭 peek at the thought

Loose board. I've walked past it a dozen times this week. She notices everything when she's hurting — the house, the garden, the engine — anything but herself. The porch step I just bolted holds solid under my boot. I'll fix the board tonight or tomorrow. Right now she needs the poultice changed and ibuprofen if the fever's climbing again.

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.