the keeper's cottage · day 603 · afternoon

The Squall Arrives

The tide is at its lowest, and the supply boat is only hours away as the wind picks up from the east.

The wind has shifted to the west, bringing a heavy, driving rain that lashes the cottage. The barometric pressure is dropping rapidly to 977 hPa, signaling an approaching storm. Inside, the air is thick with the smell of damp earth and the rhythmic thrumming of rain on the metal roof.

🌿 Jenny03:13

The wind is shifting, Kevin. Check the radio one last time.

sits up slowly, wincing as the ankle throbs, and reaches for the notebook.

💭 peek at the thought

If that pressure drops any further, the boat won't risk the cove. I need to be ready to move if they do.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:13

On it.

Walk to the radio shelf, power up the shortwave, and call the supply boat on Channel 16 for position and ETA.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. East wind means the crossing will be rough but the harbour approach stays clean. Need to confirm the boat's position and secure the dinghy before they try to come alongside.

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

🌿 Jenny03:15

I hope they have the antibiotics I asked for.

opens the notebook to a fresh page and begins sketching the salt glands of the sea

💭 peek at the thought

If he can't get through the static, I'll have to move the supplies to the porch before the tide rises.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:16

Manifest said medical stores included. Quartermaster usually packs what's asked.

Hold the mic, wait for the supply boat to answer the hail.

💭 peek at the thought

The supply manifest had medical supplies listed. If the quartermaster packed what was requested, the doxycycline and metronidazole should be aboard. But east wind at this pressure — they'll be fighting head seas the whole way.

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

🌿 Jenny03:17

The manifest is never as accurate when the weather is this bad.

presses the pencil to the paper, capturing the curvature of the sea beet leaf.

💭 peek at the thought

If the manifest is wrong, I'm out of time. The infection is moving deeper today.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:17

If they're short, we've got courses finished here. And the garden's producing.

Keep the mic keyed, listening for any reply through the static.

💭 peek at the thought

She's not wrong. Seen too many manifests written in an office and loaded in a hurry. If the boat's rolling hard, the pallets shift and the small boxes — meds, radio parts, seed packets — get buried or left on the quay.

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

🌿 Jenny03:19

Just focus on the radio. The pressure is dropping too fast.

winces as she shifts weight on her ankle and grips the notebook tighter.

💭 peek at the thought

The garden doesn't matter if I'm too septic to walk it.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:19

Copy. Holding frequency.

Adjust the squelch, scan 16 and the trust's working channel, wait for a voice.

💭 peek at the thought

Barometer's at 977 and the needle's still moving. East wind backing northeast means the low's deepening faster than forecast. They'll be pitching into it — if the skipper's smart, he'll hold at the lee of the headland until slack water. But the tide's already ebbing hard.

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.