the keeper's cottage · day 618 · dawn

Morning Debridement and Engine Test

Rain hammers the cottage roof as Kevin kneels beside Jenny on the porch, scalpel and fresh sea beet-garlic-pine poultice ready for her ankle. The Yanmar's whine carries from the dinghy at the dock where he plans to run it under load once the tide drops. Jenny's seed tin rests in her pocket, the grandmother's seeds waiting for a garden assessment between downpours.

Kevin debrided Jenny's infected ankle wound with a scalpel, flushed it with boiled seawater, and applied a fresh sea beet-garlic-pine resin poultice before rewrapping it. He then prepared to take the dinghy out at ebb tide to run the Yanmar under load and inspect the dock's north piling and mooring ring. Jenny remained at the cottage, elevating her leg and listening to the rain.

🔧 Kevin21:17

Hold still. This'll sting.

debride the wound with the scalpel, flush with boiled seawater, apply fresh sea beet-garlic-pine poultice, rewrap with clean strips

💭 peek at the thought

The rain's coming down harder than the barometer suggested. Her ankle's hot to the touch even through the old dressing — infection's tracking up the calf again. Need to move fast before the tide drops enough for the Yanmar test. The poultice smells right: sea beet, garlic, pine resin. She's not flinching. That's the part that gets me.

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

🌿 Jenny21:19

I know. way get it out before the boat even gets here.

Jenny winces as the scalpel meets the infected tissue, biting her lip to keep from screaming.

💭 peek at the thought

If the infection reaches the bone, I won't be able to walk to the ridge, and the seeds will rot in the tin.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:19

Good drainage. Deeper than yesterday but clean underneath. Antibiotics are working.

flush the wound thoroughly with boiled seawater from the basin, pack the poultice deep into the incision and spread over the inflamed track up the calf, wrap tight with clean cloth strips

💭 peek at the thought

She's tougher than the engine. Pus and old blood, the wound gapes deeper than yesterday — tracking up the medial calf, two centimetres past the last mark. Good drainage though. No necrotic tissue. The antibiotics are fighting something. Rain drums the porch roof, cold water running off the eaves onto her bare foot.

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

🌿 Jenny21:23

way... finish it.

Jenny leans back against the stone wall, eyes closed, as she breathes through the sharp throb.

💭 peek at the thought

It looks less angry, but the heat is still there.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:23

Done. Elevate it. Drink the broth on the stove.

secure the wrap with a final turn and tuck, check the tension isn't cutting circulation, set the cold damp cloth on her forehead, stand and move to the porch rail to scan the dock through the rain

💭 peek at the thought

She's white at the lips. Pulse jumping at her throat. The wrap's holding pressure, poultice seeping warmth into the angry red line marching toward her knee. Three days of doxycycline and metronidazole down. Five doses left of each if the supply boat shows. If it doesn't — stop. She's watching me through half-lidded eyes. Waiting.

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

🌿 Jenny21:33

I'm not hungry yet.

Jenny heaves her leg up onto the chair, watching the rain blur the edges of the island.

💭 peek at the thought

The heat is still pulsing, but the pressure is different now.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:33

Eat when you can. I'm taking the dinghy out at the ebb — hour, maybe two. Run the Yanmar at load, check the north piling while the water's down.

pull the oilskin from the hook, check the VHF battery one more time, walk down the garden path toward the dock

💭 peek at the thought

She hasn't eaten proper in two days. The mackerel from yesterday's tin stayed down but the broth after barely touched. Fever's burning the appetite off. Barometer's holding at 1007 but the swell sound's wrong — deeper period, southwest. Storm's still out there. Yanmar needs its load test before the tide drops too far. Dock's north piling still needs eyes on it. She knows all of it. Just waiting for me to go.

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

🌿 Jenny21:37

Be careful with the current.

Jenny watches him disappear into the grey mist, then reaches for the broth with a throbbing hand.

💭 peek at the thought

If the boat doesn't come in six days, I'm in trouble.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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