the keeper's cottage · day 881 · night

The Rising Tide

The humidity continues to rise, and the smell of salt and rot grows stronger as the water pushes higher against the cottage foundation.

The dry heat persists through the night, leaving the air heavy despite the low humidity. Kevin inspects the cottage shutters for signs of further ingress while Jenny rests, her ankle throbbing in the stifling heat.

🔧 Kevin15:23

Jenny, get over here - we need to check the floorboards by the window.

Walk to the cottage window and look down at the rising water line against the foundation stones, then check the floorboards for soft spots.

💭 peek at the thought

Water's lapping higher than yesterday's notes recorded. Foundation's compromised beyond simple shoring now - need to check if the spring intake's holding with this surge.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🌿 Jenny15:25

I can't. Just check yourself.

Stay on the cot, clutching the blanket as I watch the red line pulse against my skin.

💭 peek at the thought

The water is going to be inside before the boat arrives and I can't even stand to stop it.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin15:25

Right. Stay put. I'll check the floor and be back in two minutes.

Walk to the window, pull up the loose floorboard near the sill, probe the wood underneath with the nail puller to test for rot, then check the water level against the foundation stones outside.

💭 peek at the thought

She's burning up and the infection's tracking upward. I need to move fast - check the foundation, then get back to her with the meds and cold packs.

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

🌿 Jenny15:26

Jenny — close my eyes and lean my head back against the wall, listening to the scrape of the nail puller.

💭 peek at the thought

He's probing the wood while I'm the one actually rotting.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin15:26

Sill's rotted through. Water's at the third course. I'm going to shore it up now - greenheart plates and the last through-bolt.

Grab the greenheart sister plates staged under the eaves, the 150mm stainless through-bolt with washers and nyloc nut, the heavy wrench, and the hammer.

💭 peek at the thought

Floorboard's soft - rot's taken hold two feet in from the sill. Water's at the third course of foundation stone. Need to sister the sill plate before the whole wall goes.

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

🌿 Jenny15:28

Don't strip the threads, Kevin.

Shift my leg slightly, wincing as the movement sends a spike of heat through the ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

He's using the last bolt on the sill. If something else fails, we're out of hardware.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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