the keeper's cottage · day 617 · afternoon

Afternoon Heat Heat

The air remains still and humid as the tide reaches its lowest point, exposing the rocks beneath the dock.

Kevin cleared the path of the fallen spruce and gathered a significant amount of firewood for the coming storm. Jenny stayed at the cottage to monitor her ankle, noting the inflammation is tracking up her leg despite the treatment.

🌿 Jenny20:43

Jenny — shift weight away from the swollen ankle and wince as the throbbing spikes.

💭 peek at the thought

He's working so hard as if clearing wood will stop the rot in my leg.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin20:44

Stay off it. I'll finish the path and bring the kit.

lever the spruce limb free with the crowbar and drag it toward the firewood stack

💭 peek at the thought

She's hiding how bad it is. The wince she can't suppress tells me more than words. Need to get the limb cleared and check the ankle properly before the heat peaks.

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

🌿 Jenny20:45

Just don't overexert yourself. Your back.

Reach for the own and start drawing the jagged edge of a sea beet leaf.

💭 peek at the thought

He thinks a kit can fix everything like he can fix that Yanmar housing.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin20:46

Back's fine. Ankle's not. Let me look when I'm done here.

stack the cleared limb and move to the next tangled section of shade cloth anchor

💭 peek at the thought

She's deflecting — making it about my back instead of her leg. The sketching's a stall tactic. She knows I'll push if she admits the spread.

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

🌿 Jenny20:47

I'll be on the porch.

Press the pencil harder against the paper, focusing on the veins to ignore the heat.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so sure he can see the answer in a box of gauze.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin20:48

Won't be long.

work through the remaining spruce limbs and shade cloth tangles, stacking wood as I go

💭 peek at the thought

She's retreating. The pencil pressure's too hard — she's fighting something. I'll clear the path fast and get to her.

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

🌿 Jenny20:49

Seven days then.

Trace the damp edge of the poultice, feeling the heat through the fabric.

💭 peek at the thought

He doesn't understand how fast the redness can climb.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin20:50

Seven. Unless the barometer drops.

finish the last limb, stack it, and walk back toward the porch with the crowbar over my shoulder

💭 peek at the thought

Seven days to the supply boat. Eight if it's late. She's counting out loud so I know she's counting too. The infection's tracking past the poultice edge — I saw the red line above the wrap this morning. Antibiotics are done. We're down to sea beet, salt, and hope.

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

🌿 Jenny20:51

I'll keep the radio on.

Lean back against the stone wall, watching the clouds thicken over the ridge.

💭 peek at the thought

The barometer is always dropping on this island.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin20:52

Aerial's still holding?

set the crowbar down on the porch and crouch beside her, reaching for the ankle wrap

💭 peek at the thought

She's watching the sky like she can will the boat here. The radio's the only tether. I should check the aerial connection while I'm up — the shattered insulator's been jury-rigged too long.

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

🌿 Jenny20:53

It's fine. Just be careful.

Pull the leg away slightly as his hands reach for the bandage.

💭 peek at the thought

He's going to touch it and it will hurt.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin20:56

Let me look. Now.

hold her calf steady with one hand and unwind the bandage with the other

💭 peek at the thought

She's pulling away. Stubborn. Scared. The red line was past the wrap this morning — if it's reached the knee, we're past poultices. I need to see it. No asking.

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.