Day 118

Stand clear of the corners.

Work the crowbar slow along the seam, letting the corroded nails scream loose one at a time instead of forcing the lid.

Kevin — keep the bar working the seam, easing the lid up slow so the rotten wood doesn't crumble into the contents.

Kevin — give the bar one last slow heave, prying the lid free and letting it fall aside, then peer into the crate.

Coming.

Walk to the table, pull out the chair, and sit. Pick up a limpet shell and extract the meat with the small fork. Eat slowly, watching the steam rise from the skillet.

Mm.

Wipe glasses on shirt hem, set them back on. Take another limpet, chew slow. Nod toward the porch. Radio after.

Seeds first. Radio at noon.

Finish the last limpet, push the bowl aside. Stand, take the skillet from her hands, set it on the stove to cool. Pull the coffee jar closer, pour two mugs black. Slide one across the table.

Kevin — pry open the waterlogged crate with the crowbar, working the lid free at each corner

Kevin — inventory the crate contents: six tins corned beef, sealed coffee jar, bundle of old newspapers, coil of new half-inch three-strand rope, plus the degraded salt-crusted rope noted earlier

Kevin — carry the coffee jar and corned beef tins into the kitchen pantry; coil the new rope neatly on the porch; bring the newspaper bundle to the table to check dates

On it. Generator cover first — tarp's no good if the fuel gets wet.

Walk to the porch, pull the plastic tarp tight over the generator and fuel can, secure the corners with bungee cords and rope.

Grab the notebook too. I'll check the mast guys and the aerial lead-in.

Walk to the radio mast base, inspect the guy rope tension and the self-amalgamating tape on the porcelain insulator, tighten any slack.

Sail's not tied down. Getting it now.

Walk to the dinghy at the dock, gather the damp sail off the spruce spar, roll it tight, and lash it to the thwart with the new rope.

Got it. Back in thirty seconds.

Jog back up the dock path to the cottage porch, grab the roll of self-amalgamating tape from the shelf, climb the mast base ladder, strip the bubbling tape off the porcelain insulator, and re-wrap it clean and tight with two full overlappin

Already on it.

grab the seed trays from the porch and carry them inside to the kitchen counter near the wood stove

Kevin — set the trays on the kitchen counter by the window, leaving space between each for airflow

Kevin — take the glass and drink it down in three swallows, set it back on the table hard

North end ridge flashing was loose last week. I'll take a look.

grab the LED headlamp from the hook by the door and head outside to the cottage roof access

Kevin — climb the ladder to the roof hatch, pull myself out onto the slick tin, and crab-walk toward the north ridge flashing with the headlamp beam sweeping the seams

Kevin — brace one boot on a roof batten, drive two stainless screws through the lifted flashing into the purlin beneath, then work west along the ridge securing every loose section

We need to get the spar inside and scarf it now — epoxy won’t set in this damp. Help me haul it down from the mast step before the rain hits.

walk to the spruce spar at the mast step, support the split end with one hand, and signal Jenny to take the other end as I begin lowering it slowly onto the porch.

Stove’s cold. Get a fire going — hardwood if we’ve got any split, else the driftwood pile. I’ll clear the kitchen table for the scarf layout.

step ahead into the kitchen, shove the seed trays onto the bench to clear the table, and sweep sawdust and herb stems off the surface with my forearm.

Once the stove’s pulling, shut the door and crack the damper — we want heat, not smoke. I’ll mark the scarf angles on the spar and start the saw cuts.

pull the Japanese pull-saw from the tool roll, hook the tape measure over the split end of the spar, and mark the first eight-to-one slope line with a carpenter’s pencil.