the dock · day 833 · morning

Morning Day 833

The tide continues to cover the flats as the clouds darken further. You prepare the final gear for the supply boat's arrival.

Kevin and Jenny attempted to replace the rotten planks on the dock, but the humidity and heavy air made the wood swollen and waterlogged, making it difficult to pry the bolts loose. Jenny struggled with the increasing pain in her swollen ankle while Kevin worked against the stubborn fasteners in the damp timber.

🔧 Kevin00:56

Radio check at 0800. If the captain's on schedule, he'll raise us on 2182.

Walk back up the jetty to the cottage, grab the crowbar and the two greenheart sister plates staged under the eaves, then return to the dock to start replacing the rotten planks.

💭 peek at the thought

The barometer's dropped four millibars since dawn. Supply boat's due tomorrow on the high tide — two hour window. Need the dock solid for the crane load. Those two rotten planks at the seaward end have been waiting long enough.

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

🌿 Jenny00:57

Check the bolts on the wood before you pull them through.

sit on the dock edge, unwrap the damp bandage to inspect the red streaks, and sketch the morphology of the rotting wood in the notebook.

💭 peek at the thought

My own is throbbing in time with the tide, and if that boat doesn't show tomorrow, I'm going to lose the leg or the dinghy first.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:59

Backing them out with the pipe wrench. Heat on the nuts if they bite.

Set the crowbar down, fetch the pipe wrench and propane torch from the workshop, then start on the seaward-most rotten plank — heating the bolt nuts first before attempting to turn them.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right about the bolts — the old galvanized ones will sheer if I don't back them off slow. And she's mapping the rot pattern for the notebook. Good. Means she's still tracking.

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

🌿 Jenny01:00

Don't char the greenheart, just get the metal to yield.

lean back against the cottage wall, closing my eyes against the fever and trying to breathe through the heavy, salt air.

💭 peek at the thought

If he strips the threads, the whole jetty goes, and I don't have the energy to fix it twice.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin01:00

Torch on the nut, not the timber. Count to fifteen.

Apply the propane torch to the first bolt nut — fifteen count — then set the pipe wrench and lean slow, steady pressure.

💭 peek at the thought

Greenheart's dense — won't char easy. But she's not talking about the wood. She's watching me work to keep from watching her leg. The red streaks haven't retreated. Metronidazole course finished this morning. Four days until the boat.

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

🌿 Jenny01:01

Come on, move. Don't you dare snap on me now.

watch the bolt for the first sign of a twist, my ankle throbbing with every pulse of effort.

💭 peek at the thought

The heat is radiating off the metal, but the rust isn't giving. If it snaps, I'm stuck halfway here.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin01:02

First one's free. Three to go.

Move to the second bolt, torch the nut for fifteen, then crack it with the pipe wrench.

💭 peek at the thought

The nut breaks free with a groan of salt and time. Threads scream but hold. One down. Three more on this plank. Her breath hitches each time I torque — she's counting my effort in heartbeats.

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

🌿 Jenny01:03

Focus. Just focus on the heat.

wipe sweat from my eyes with the back of a dirty hand and adjust the torch for the next nut.

💭 peek at the thought

way down. The fever is making my vision swim, but I need this dock finished before the boat actually hits the water.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin01:04

Third's stripped. Splitting the plank.

Set the torch down, drive the crowbar between the rotten plank and the stringer, and lever the timber apart to free the bolt shank.

💭 peek at the thought

She's guiding my hand. The fever's got her shaking but her voice is steady. Second nut lets go cleaner. Third bites — threads stripped in the timber. Have to split the plank around it.

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

🌿 Jenny01:05

Use the pry bar, don't tear the greenheart.

watch the wood splinter, feeling a sharp spike of pain in my ankle as I shift my weight.

💭 peek at the thought

If the threads are gone, we'll have to drill the thing out, and I don't have the strength for that today.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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