the keeper's cottage · day 839 · morning

Morning Ration Prep

Kevin and Jenny meet in the kitchen as the heat begins to rise. The smell of boiling coffee fills the small space.

Kevin placed the letter to Tom on Jenny's pillow as the rain began to lash the cottage. Jenny spent the morning tending to the garden seedlings, noting the salt stress on the tomato leaves despite the coming storm.

🌿 Jenny06:41

The rain is coming early. We need to check the garden tarp again.

Lean against the kitchen counter, shifting weight away from my left ankle, and watch the coffee boil.

💭 peek at the thought

He's humming again, like the engine isn't leaking and my leg is perfectly fine.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:41

Checked it at first light. North corner's loose. Batten shifted.

pour coffee into two tin mugs, set one on the counter within her reach

💭 peek at the thought

She's favouring the ankle more today. Heat's rising faster than yesterday. The tarp held through the night but the wind's shifting west — if the front pushes in before noon the corners will lift again.

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

🌿 Jenny06:43

The salt stress is showing on the tomato seedlings too. And the basil..." I gesture toward the wilted herbs by the window. "The soil's still too acidic. I need to lime the beds properly.

Accept the coffee mug with my right hand, letting my left ankle rest against the cool tile floor, and trace a finger along the rim of the mug where his thumbprints still linger.

💭 peek at the thought

He thinks I can't feel his careful attention to the corner he knows I worry about most.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin06:43

Lime's on the porch. Two sacks. Spread it before the rain hits proper — gets worked in faster.

lean back against the stove, cradle my mug, watch steam rise

💭 peek at the thought

She's tracking the garden like she tracks infection — systematic, quiet, refusing to look away. The basil's gone. She knows it. I know it. But she'll still try to save what's left.

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

🌿 Jenny06:45

If it rains too hard, it'll just wash away before it can settle. I need to secure the tarp first.

Take a slow sip of the bitter coffee, the warmth cutting through the chill, and look out the window at the grey, heavy clouds rolling over the west.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always three steps ahead of the weather, while I'm just trying to keep my skin on.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:45

North corner first. Then the west edge. I'll drive stakes while you batten.

finish the coffee in one swallow, set the mug down, pull the oilskin from the hook by the door

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. Heavy rain on fresh lime is waste. Tarp first, then lime in the window between fronts. The batten on the north corner needs a proper stake this time, not just a stone.

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

🌿 Jenny06:47

I'll handle the tension. way make sure those stakes are deep; the wind is already shifting.

Set the mug down, wince slightly as I shift my weight to stand up, and grab my notebook from the table.

💭 peek at the thought

He wants me to be useful, but I'm barely holding together today.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:49

Then let's get those stakes driven before the rain starts. I'll take the north ridge tarp first, you handle the garden tension.

grab the notebook and pencil, head for the door, then stop and pull the spare tarp battens from the shelf as well

💭 peek at the thought

She's already thinking about the wind direction, not the heat. Not the infection. Just the work. That's how she'll understand.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

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