the dock · day 887 · morning

Low tide inspection

The tide is at its lowest, revealing the most decayed sections of the dock structure. They must decide how to reinforce the mooring ring before the water turns.

Kevin packed the mortise with epoxy and sawdust, then drove three oak wedges and the final stainless through-bolt to secure the mooring ring. Jenny limped to the cottage, debrided her ankle with saline, and applied a fresh sea beet and honey poultice before checking the seedling trays for damping-off.

🔧 Kevin04:24

Mortise is split to the heartwood. Last long bolt goes in the sister plate. You drive the wedges home on my mark — oak, vertical grain, three a side. I'll work the come-along.

crouch at the waterline, probing the mortise with the screwdriver blade, measuring the split depth against the ring's shoulder

💭 peek at the thought

The ring mortise is worse than I thought — splintered clean through on the landward side. If the tide turns before we sister it, the whole dock walks. Greenheart's dense enough to hold but I need the last 150mm through-bolt and there's only one left. Jenny's ankle won't take the come-along load. I'll have to drive the wedges myself while she feeds the bolts.

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

🌿 Jenny04:25

The wood is too soft, Kevin. We need the epoxy first, or the wedges will just split the grain.

Wincing, way shifts her weight, clutching her sketchbook white-knuckle to mask the throbbing heat in her ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

If those bolts don't hold, the dinghy goes with the next surge, and I'm stuck with this useless leg.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:26

Epoxy first. You sit. I'll mix what's left and pack the mortise. Wedges go in wet. Tide'll clamp it.

pull the near-empty epoxy tub from the tool bag, upend it over the splintered mortise, scraping the last resin-hardener sludge into the split with a putty knife, working fast before the cold sets it

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. The greenheart's sound but the mortise cheeks are punky — wedges alone will blow the grain out. Epoxy tub's nearly empty, thick as tar in this cold. Might be enough for the mortise if I work fast. Need to pack it tight, let the tide pressure seat the ring while it kicks. Her ankle's burning hot through the blanket. She shouldn't be standing on it.

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

🌿 Jenny04:27

Just make sure it gets deep into the grain; the wood is like wet paper right now.

Sinks onto a dry-crate, watching the resin bleed into the grey fibers of the dock.

💭 peek at the thought

He's right, the tide is the only clock I have left, and it's coming fast.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:28

Bulking it with sawdust. Go wrap up, drink the broth. I'll drive the wedges and the bolt.

scrape greenheart sawdust from the cutting block into the epoxy-slick mortise, mixing it stiff with the putty knife, then drive the first oak wedge home with the mallet, feeling the ring shift tight

💭 peek at the thought

Resin's soaking in but the grain's drinking it like water. Not enough volume to fill the void proper. Need to bulk it — sawdust from the greenheart cuts, maybe sand. The tide's already turning, I can hear it sucking at the pilings. Fifteen minutes before the ring loads up. Her face is grey. She needs the blanket and the broth, not a front-row seat to dock surgery.

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

🌿 Jenny04:29

Jenny — pushes herself up slowly, limping heavily on the swollen ankle as she turns toward the cottage.

💭 peek at the thought

He's actually doing it, but the rot is so deep even epoxy might just be a bandage. nothingSAY: I need to check the seedling trays before the damping-off takes the lot.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:30

(nothing — just a grunt as I swing the mallet for the second wedge)

drive the second and third oak wedges home on the seaward side, alternating blows to keep the ring square, sweat stinging the cut on my forearm

💭 peek at the thought

Good. She's going. The wedge bit — ring moved a hair landward. Four more to drive, then the sister plate and the last bolt. Tide's kissing the lowest piling now. Water on my boots. Work faster.

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

🌿 Jenny04:30

Don't over-torque the bolt!

Pauses and looks back over her shoulder, one hand braced against the dock piling for balance.

💭 peek at the thought

That sound—the thud of the mallet—is the only thing that feels solid on this island.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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