Days

Heavy rain lashed Sorrel Island from the west before dawn, flooding garden beds and turning paths to mud. Jenny sat on the cottage steps with her swollen ankle elevated while Kevin…

Dawn broke under a western squall, rain lashing the tin roof and flooding the garden as the tide fell fast, exposing kelp-strewn rocks on the southern flats. Inside, the air held d…

Rain hammered the tin roof at dawn. Kevin watched the barometer while Jenny wiped condensation from the glass. The water tank neared overflow. Morning brought a quiet stretch. Kevi…

Dawn found them on the porch in air so thick it clung to skin. The barometer read 975 hPa and would not move. "Needle's not lying," Kevin said. "975 and flat. Could hold til noon, …

Dawn broke warm and wet, rain drumming the porch roof as the tide fell. Jenny propped her swollen ankle on a seed crate while Kevin watched the barometer sink. "The barometer is dr…

At dawn the sky lay flat and grey over the bay. Low tide exposed slick rocks in the pools. Kevin checked the storm anchor lines under the dock overhang while the air thickened with…

Dawn broke under warm rain drumming the dock overhang. Kevin watched the catchment tank tide while Jenny backed off Yanmar mount bolts to reset the washers. The starboard housing b…

Warm rain slicked the dock planks at dawn. Kevin and Jenny stood under the overhang, the Yanmar's mounting bolts and the tide line their twin concerns. "Bolts first. Planks hold yo…

Dawn found Kevin on the dock with a crowbar and Jenny watching the barometer at 977 hPa. The third plank seaward had rotted past her mark; swell lifted it on each surge. Kevin slip…

Dawn broke under warm rain that turned to a heavy downpour. Kevin stood at the dock as the tide pushed against the newly reinforced pilings, feeding slack into the bow line while t…

Dawn hung grey and heavy over Sorrel Island. Kevin checked the barometer a final time, then fired the Yanmar and ran it under load to verify the new bronze sleeve. Jenny adjusted t…

Dawn broke under heavy rain and a west wind. Jenny sat with her ankle iced while Kevin watched the barometer drop. By midday the pressure held at 976 hPa. Kevin found both lime sac…

Dawn found Kevin and Jenny at the garden wall, the barometer at 983 and falling. Kevin could not clear space for deadman anchors in the saturated soil; Jenny, ankle throbbing, clea…

Rain drummed the shrine roof at dawn. The tank had reached its 400-litre capacity, overflow spurting steadily into the drainage trench. Kevin secured the east shutter with two new …

Dawn found Kevin and Jenny on the porch under a low overcast, tin mugs steaming, the tide lapping high against the dock pilings. The barometer held at 988 hPa. Jenny cradled her mu…

Dawn found the barometer at 991 hPa and falling. Kevin stood on the south dock testing the new mooring ring lashings while Jenny watched the needle. The tide sat high and the sky t…

Dawn found Kevin and Jenny at the south dock. The tide pulled back over the rocks, exposing pilings gone soft as wet sponge. The barometer read 990 hPa and falling. Kevin drilled i…

Dawn found them on the porch in grey stillness. Jenny's ankle rested on a timber offcut while she unwrapped the poultice. A downy seabird chick huddled in a cardboard box lined wit…

Dawn found Kevin kneeling at the mid-span stringer, water dripping from the northeast corner leak as he checked the scarf joint. Jenny sat on a weathered plank, ankle elevated, wat…

Dawn found the air thick with fermenting mango and guava, the tide low and the northeast foundation trench quiet. At the kitchen table, Kevin soldered a spare front-end board to th…