Days

Kevin and Jenny stood on the reinforced dock at dawn, checking the stern line and Yanmar engine mount as clouds thickened over the salt air. Back at the cottage, Kevin worked on th…

At dawn, Kevin checked the Yanmar engine mount bolts for loosening while Jenny soaked her ankle in salt water. Later, Kevin returned to the cottage breathless, carrying a salt tin …

Kevin crouched by the dinghy, checking the tension on the new bolts as the tide rose. Jenny sat on a crate, wrapping fresh gauze around her swollen ankle while watching the water l…

Dawn found Kevin crouched at the dock piling, testing the mooring ring against the swell while Jenny wrapped fresh gauze around her ankle on a crate nearby. He boiled limpets for b…

The sun rose over a flat, heavy sky as clouds thickened. At dawn, Jenny sorted dried sea beet leaves and boiled some for breakfast. Kevin checked the mooring ring and found the wed…

Dawn found Kevin on the new dock, tapping sister planks with a mallet while the rising tide lapped the pilings. Greenheart shims held. The structure stayed silent and firm. Jenny s…

Thick mist clung to the cottage walls at dawn, muffling the surf. Jenny sat at the table, ankle wrapped in gauze, while Kevin inspected the pantry floor. "It's just a mouse, Kevin.…

Dawn broke clear and warm over the dock. The tide had fallen, exposing barnacled pilings and sandbars. Kevin prepped the come-along and greenheart offcuts while Jenny wrapped fresh…

Dawn found Jenny on the porch step, notebook in hand, watching the red line on her ankle creep another two centimeters. Kevin had set out gauze and antibiotic cream. The air hung t…

Dawn brought a rapid tide fall, exposing the north pilings’ slick, barnacled faces. Kevin checked tension on the new greenheart sister while Jenny monitored the waterline. By morni…

Dawn found Kevin and Jenny crouched at the north piling as the tide pulled back, exposing barnacled greenheart. Kevin probed the shim with a crowbar. "Shim's tight. Piling's the pr…

Dawn broke heavy and still on Day 483, tide fully out, slick rocks exposed. Kevin, exhausted from a night watching Jenny's infected ankle, organized new stakes and lines for the sh…

Dawn found Jenny on the garden wall, tweezers in hand, debriding her ankle while her fingers shook. Red streaks pulsed toward her knee. Kevin wrestled a stake with the pipe wrench;…

At dawn, Kevin and Jenny found the shredded shade cloth and uprooted tomato seedlings near the garden edge, a large coconut crab having scuttled toward the wall, leaving deep gouge…

At dawn Kevin knelt by the dinghy and tested the impact driver against the seized Yanmar injector nozzle while Jenny sat on a salt-crate watching the tide recede from the reinforce…

Steady rain drummed against the roof as the water tank reached its four hundred litre limit and overflowed slightly. Jenny sat on the bench wrapping her ankle brace while Kevin che…

At dawn the barometer read 974 hPa. Kevin sat on the steps watching the needle; Jenny wrapped her swollen ankle beside him, eyes on the thickening clouds over the north ridge. The …

Dawn brought a sky thick with salt and humidity, the barometer needle creeping down to 978 hPa. Jenny stood on the porch and said, "It's going to break. We need to secure the tarp …

Rain fell steady through dawn, turning the garden to mud and filling the tank to overflow. Jenny unwrapped damp sea beet leaves from the seed tin while Kevin watched the barometer …

The barometer sat at 982 and falling. Dawn brought heavy air, high tide lapping the pilings, and the first drops hitting the tin roof. Kevin moved the shortwave and coax cable to t…