the keeper's cottage · day 887 · afternoon

Afternoon tide check and seedling triage

Kevin and Jenny meet back at the cottage porch as the tide approaches high slack. The swell has eased but the water is lapping the lower dock bolts. They compare notes on the north piling void and the new damping-off cases, and decide whether to risk the dinghy for a quick engine test before the supply boat window.

The Yanmar engine idles at a steady 950 RPM, the vibration minimal through the transom as Kevin monitors the tachometer. Jenny watches the fuel line, her hand steady on the primer bulb to ensure no air pockets remain in the new line line. The heavy air is stifling, the 30°C humidity pressing against them as they wait for the tide to begin its slow inevitable turn.

🌿 Jenny04:41

The tide is out far enough for the dock, but we check the engine now before the current shifts.

Jenny stands up slowly, clutching the porch railing for support, and limps toward the wayhy.

💭 peek at the thought

If the Yanmar coughs once more, we're stuck here for another week, and my own feels like it's melting into iron.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:41

Current turns in twenty minutes. We test at idle first, no load. If the vibration's still above eighteen hundred, we don't go.

walk down the porch steps to the dock, unclip the dinghy bow line from the cleat

💭 peek at the thought

The engine test makes sense — supply boat in three days, need to know the Yanmar will push us through the bar if the swell's up. But Jenny's ankle is tracking hot and she's moving slow. If the current shifts while we're out there, we're committed.

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

🌿 Jenny04:43

I'll check the fuel line while you prime the pump.

way shifts her weight to her good leg, wincing as the throb intensifies, and follows him to the water.

💭 peek at the thought

Eighteen hundred is a generous Limit for an engine that's been screaming for three months.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:43

Fuel line's new from the crate. Should be clean. Prime's on you if the starter hangs.

step into the dinghy, brace against the gunwale, reach for the Yanmar's decompression lever and fuel pump primer

💭 peek at the thought

She shouldn't be walking on it. The infection's tracking and she's masking it. But she'll do what she decides. I'll watch the engine, she watches the fuel — same as always.

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

🌿 Jenny04:44

Just don't snap the cord again.

Jenny limps to the gunwale and reaches for the primer bulb, squeezing it firmly to feel for the resistance of fuel.

💭 peek at the thought

He's too confident in that crate's hardware. I can still smell the salt-rot in the rubber.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin04:44

Cord's fine. Decompression lever's stiff — give it a solid pull.

grip the starter handle, pull the decompression lever up with the other hand, and give a sharp pull on the cord

💭 peek at the thought

The primer firms up — good, no air in the line. New cord held last time. She's deflecting with humour, means she's hurting more than she'll say.

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

🌿 Jenny04:47

Watch for the smoke on the exhaust.

Jenny squeeze the primer bulb, eyes fixed on the engine block, waiting for the cough of life.

💭 peek at the thought

If it doesn't catch, I'm going to lose my mind in this heat.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:47

She's breathing. Idle at nine-fifty. No knock.

let the decompression lever snap back down, settle weight to watch the tachometer and feel for vibration through the transom

💭 peek at the thought

Engine catches on the second pull. White smoke at startup — normal for cold Yanmar. Exhaust water spurts steady. Idle sounds clean. Now hold it there and watch the tach.

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

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