the keeper's cottage · day 866 · afternoon

The Storm Deepens

The rain has turned into a driving downpour, and the wind has increased. You gather inside for the evening.

Kevin expressed his commitment to staying on the island to Jenny while the rained down. He worked on the generator fuel system and attempted to prepare wood, while Jenny stayed inside to tend to her painful ankle and keep watch over the cottage.

🔧 Kevin00:42

Wind's backed southwest. Barometer's at 982 and still dropping. We're in for a long night.

check the generator oil level through the sight glass and top up if needed, then secure the porch shutters with the through-bolts

💭 peek at the thought

The wind's found a new angle — hitting the west gable hard. Rain's coming sideways across the porch. Good thing I battened the tarp yesterday. Generator's still running clean. Need to check the fuel bowl before dark but the rain's too heavy to open the shed door without flooding the carburetor.

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

🌿 Jenny00:45

The house is already way too much through those sills.

Apply the fresh sea beet-honey poultice to the ankle and wrap it loosely in a clean cloth.

💭 peek at the thought

If the pressure drops any further, the storm is going to tear the shingles right off the roof.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:45

Greenheart's under the eaves. Three eight-foot cores, straight grain. Can sister the sill and two joists when the ground firms up. For tonight the house holds.

pull the spare radio battery from the shelf and set it charging off the generator while it's running clean

💭 peek at the thought

She's not wrong. The rot's eaten through the main floor sill on the west wall — honeycombed right through to the joist ends. I saw it when I pulled the baseboard yesterday. Two, maybe three joists have lost their bearing. House won't fold tonight but another winter like this and the whole west side settles. Need to sister new greenheart in before the spring tides. Have the timber staged under the eaves. Just need a dry week and the generator to hold.

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

🌿 Jenny00:47

Just hope the greenheart stays dry until the boat comes.

Lean back against the chair and watch the rain race down the windowpane.

💭 peek at the thought

He talks about wood like it's a math problem, but the rot is a living thing.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:47

Boat's not landing at the dock in this swell. If Tom comes Wednesday he'll anchor off south beach. We'll need the dinghy ready to lighter stores.

drag the three greenheart cores from under the eaves onto the porch and cover them with the heavy canvas roll

💭 peek at the thought

She's thinking about the supply boat. Wednesday was what Tom said. Three days out if the weather holds. But this low's deepening fast — barometer's dropped six millibars since noon. If the swell builds past three meters the boat can't land at the dock. They'll anchor off the beach and we'll have to ferry stores in the dinghy. In this wind that's not happening. Greenheart's tarped but the humidity's eating everything. Should move it inside the porch tonight.

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

🌿 Jenny00:49

We'll have to check the hull again once the swell drops.

Rub the swollen ankle through the bandage, trying to ignore the throb.

💭 peek at the thought

If the boat doesn't come, we'll be out of antibiotic before the month.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:49

Hull's sound. Transom held. Stern line's good. Vibration's still there above eighteen hundred RPM — shaft or bracket. I'll check it when the weather breaks.

pour two mugs of coffee from the pot on the stove and set one on the table beside her

💭 peek at the thought

Dinghy's sound. Transom scarf held, epoxy cured proper, bronze sleeve on the prop shaft's true. New stern line's spliced and served. Bow line's got the chafe guard. Storm anchor's deployed off the bow with fifty meters of warp to the mooring ring. She'll ride it out. But Jenny's right — once the swell drops I'll haul her and check every seam. The vibration above half throttle's still there. Prop shaft alignment or the mast bracket. Need to pull the shaft and mic it again when I can.

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

🌿 Jenny00:51

Thanks.

Wrap both hands around the mug, letting the heat sink into my palms.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always looking at the engine while the house is literally rotting under us.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:51

Eat something. Corned beef and lime broth. Keep the strength up.

open a tin of corned beef, slice it into the pot of simmering broth with a handful of crushed lime, and ladle two bowls

💭 peek at the thought

She's cold. The ankle's draining her — fever's been low-grade for three days, antibiotics are working but slow. She's lost weight since the medevac got called off. The letter from the trust is still on the table under the stone. She hasn't opened it. Hasn't burned it. I told her I'm staying. Said it plain. She didn't answer. Just went back to the garden wall. Tonight the wind's going to scream. I'll keep the generator running. Keep the radio charged. Keep the fire fed.

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

🌿 Jenny00:53

It smells good.

Take a small, careful sip of the broth, watching the steam rise in the dim kitchen light.

💭 peek at the thought

I'm not even hungry, but the smell of the lime is sharp.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:53

There's more in the pot. Drink it all.

sit opposite her with my own bowl, eating slowly, listening to the wind hit the cottage walls

💭 peek at the thought

She's not eating enough. Hasn't for weeks. The ankle, the infection, the fever — appetite's gone. Broth's good. Lime cuts the salt, gives her vitamin C, the fat from the corned beef carries calories. Need to get more into her. The seed potatoes are coming up in the garden — early crop in six weeks if the crabs don't get them. Sea beet's thriving on the north ridge. We'll have greens. Protein's the problem. Fish when the dinghy can run. Tinned mackerel's down to three cans. Should've salted more limpets last month.

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

🌿 Jenny00:55

I'll try.

Take a way of broth, wincing as the movement shifts the weight on my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

The wood is groaning tonight. I can hear the salt eating into the floorboards.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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