the dock · day 893 · afternoon

The Calm Before the Arrival

The wind dies down completely as the first heavy drops of rain begin to hit the dust on the dock planks.

Kevin and Jenny spend the afternoon at the dock preparing for the supply boat's arrival. Kevin focuses on the Yanmar engine's precision while Jenny monitors her ankle and manages the inventory in the heavy humidity.

🌿 Jenny10:05

It's starting.

Lean against a piling and watch the rain darken the timber.

💭 peek at the thought

Finally. The pressure was becoming unbearable. I can feel the hunger shaking me, but the smell of the rain hitting the wood is better than any meal.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:05

Aye. Tank'll top off before midnight.

Walk to the seaward end of the dock, crouch, press thumb into the third plank from the end where the rot line shows.

💭 peek at the thought

Rain's here. Good for the tanks, bad for the rot. She's watching the planks, not the sky — she knows what I know.

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

🌿 Jenny10:06

It's deeper than it looks. The core is gone.

Step closer, favoring the good leg, and point to the exact line in the notebook.

💭 peek at the thought

He's checking the rot. I already mapped it; he's just feeling the softness I've already documented. I wonder if he thinks he can push the rot back with his thumb.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:06

Noted. Three planks minimum. Four if the tide brings swell.

Pull the crowbar from the loop at my belt, set the claw under the marked plank's seaward edge, and lever — slow, feeling for give in the joist beneath.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. The rot's eaten past the sapwood into the heart. Two more planks like this and the finger pier won't take the crane load.

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

🌿 Jenny10:08

Easy. Don't torque the joist or you'll pull the nails from the stringer.

Watch his hand, gripping the edge of the notebook tightly.

💭 peek at the thought

He's too aggressive with that lever. If he twists the joist, he'll compromise the whole section. I can't stand the vagueness of 'feeling for give' when the physics of the rot are right there in my sketches.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:09

Holding.

Ease the crowbar back, shift grip, work the plank up inch by inch — listening to the timber, feeling for the first pop of nail heads against the stringer.

💭 peek at the thought

She's seen me work timber. Knows the sound of a joist giving before it snaps. Good eye.

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

🌿 Jenny10:10

There it is.

Lean in to observe the gap between the plank and the stringer.

💭 peek at the thought

That sound—that wet, sucking pop. It's the sound of structural failure. I can almost feel the fibers tearing in my own ankle.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:10

One free. Three to go on this one.

Work the crowbar along the plank, popping the remaining nails methodically, keeping the timber from splitting.

💭 peek at the thought

First nail let go clean. Three more in this plank, then the next. Tide's rising — got maybe two hours before the water's up to the joists.

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

🌿 Jenny10:12

Just don't let the wind catch it.

Shift weight to the good leg and look toward the cottage.

💭 peek at the thought

He's being careful, which is a start. But we're standing in the rain and I'm starving; I can't focus on the rhythm of the nails. I need to get back to the cottage.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin10:12

Won't.

Pull the plank clear once the last nail releases, set it down flat against the dock surface, kick it toward the landward end where it won't blow off.

💭 peek at the thought

Wind's light now but the gusts come off the cliffs sudden. A loose plank goes airborne easy. She's thinking ahead — good.

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

🌿 Jenny10:15

Let's get inside before it really pours.

Walk toward the cottage, limping slightly.

💭 peek at the thought

He's done with that section, but the rot is everywhere on this island. My ankle is throbbing with every step, and the rain is getting heavier.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin10:15

Right behind you. One more plank.

Step to the next marked plank, set the crowbar, lever the first nail free — keeping one eye on the water creeping up the pilings.

💭 peek at the thought

Rain's picking up. She's favouring the ankle harder than she was an hour ago. Poultice wearing off or the damp's getting to the bone. Two planks down, one to go on this run. Can finish the third before the tide covers the joists.

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.