Days

Dawn broke over Sorrel Island with the barometer at 988 hPa and the tide climbing the shimmed pilings. Kevin tested the north piling with a crowbar; the sister joint held but the t…

Dawn broke grey and wet. Kevin stood on the dock, watching heavy drops hit the salt-wood. Jenny sat on a coiled rope, wrapping her ankle in fresh cloth as the westerly wind picked …

Dawn found Kevin on the porch steps, watching the barometer needle dip as the air grew heavy. Jenny sat behind him, ankle propped on a crate, scraping white mold from the seed tin …

At dawn Kevin sat on the porch steps watching the barometer as the sky darkened. The air was still and heavy with salt. Inside the cottage, drying sea beet scented the room and wat…

Rain lashed the dock as Kevin checked the dinghy's mooring lines against the rising swell. Jenny sat on the bench, wrapping her bandaged ankle against the chill. As the wind picked…

At dawn on Day 548 the sky lay flat and grey over Sorrel Island. Clouds thickened above the dry-season heat as the tide fell, exposing the slick rocks of the north pools. Kevin sto…

Dawn found Kevin on the porch edge watching a wooden crate bob in grey surf while Jenny sat nearby, ankle wrapped in fresh gauze, temperature 38.4°C. Kevin retrieved the come-along…

Dawn found Kevin on the bed's edge, watching the barometer needle dip. Jenny lay still beneath the sheets, breathing shallow in the heavy air. The needle held at 981 hPa. Kevin rep…

Rain hammered the cottage roof and the tarp over the porch from first light. The barometer stuck at 981 hPa, tide out, dock timbers exposed. Kevin sat on the narrow bed beside Jenn…

Rain drummed the tarp at dawn. The water tank reached its overflow lip. Kevin found the Yanmar housing dry, no salt leaks. He secured the dock mooring ring while the tide was out, …

Warm rain drummed the tin roof in rhythmic pulses. Dawn found the tide fully out, exposing slick rocks on the southern reefs. Kevin woke with a stiff back; Jenny shifted her ankle,…

Dawn found Kevin and Jenny at the garden wall among the seed trays, air thick and still under overcast. The copper sulfate spray bottle dripped onto Kevin's boot. Jenny crouched wi…

Dawn found Jenny on the low garden wall, inspecting seed trays for fungal fuzz in the heavy, still air. Kevin stood nearby with the copper spray bottle. "Watch the edges of the let…

Kevin crouched by the dinghy, checking mooring line tension as the tank overflowed. Jenny sat on a crate, propping her ankle while rain lashed the garden wall. They dug a drainage …

Kevin sat on the dock edge at dawn, checking the rising tide against newly reinforced pilings while Jenny elevated her ankle on a bucket, watching pale jellyfish drift into the gre…

Kevin sat at the kitchen table watching the barometer needle dip toward 980 hPa as Jenny kept her ankle propped on a stool, the heavy humidity hanging motionless in the room. At th…

Heavy rain lashed the roof as wind pulled at the garden tarp. Jenny sat on the bench, watching water pour off the eaves while Kevin monitored the barometer's steady drop. Rain inte…

The morning air hung heavy with humidity as Kevin and Jenny sat on the porch, the barometer creeping up at 991. Jenny wrapped her ankle in a damp cloth while Kevin checked the pres…

Kevin knelt by the seaward wall at dawn, checking tarp lashings as Jenny watched the overcast clouds. Later, he dug a trench from the water tank overflow to prevent erosion while J…

Dawn found Kevin on the cottage steps tapping the barometer with a fingertip. The needle sat at 992 hPa, up a hair from yesterday, but the air hung thick and the wind had backed ea…