Days

Dawn broke over the south dock with the tide lapping the pilings faster than the lunar charts predicted. Kevin checked the mooring line tension while Jenny watched the barometer, t…

Warm rain fell in fits at dawn as Kevin probed the northeast foundation with a mattock. The intercept trench he had dug yesterday was half-collapsed, weeping water onto the floorbo…

Heavy western rain lashed the cottage at dawn. Kevin inspected the interior foundation leaks while Jenny sat on the porch applying a fresh poultice to her swollen ankle, watching t…

Dawn thickened over the north ridge as Kevin tightened shade cloth anchors, the ground too soft to hold the oak stakes. Jenny tested soil near the garden wall — pH 5.5 to 5.8 — whi…

Dawn brought heavy rain lashing the west side of the cottage. Wind rattled the ridge beam. Jenny sat on the stool watching the sky while Kevin checked the tarp tension. "Check the …

Dawn broke grey and still, the air heavy at 26°C with the barometer holding at 975 hPa. On the porch, Jenny sat propped on a stool, ankle wrapped in fresh gauze and a sea beet poul…

Dawn found Kevin and Jenny on the porch under a low overcast, the generator humming from the shed. Jenny's leg was propped on a stool, ankle wrapped in fresh gauze with a sea beet …

Dawn found Kevin on the porch steps irrigating Jenny's ankle with saline, the red streaks holding two centimeters past the line he had marked the night before. "Streaks have moved,…

Dawn found Kevin and Jenny on the porch steps under a flat, thickening sky. The generator hummed from the shed and the Yanmar idled at the dock. Between them sat a basin of warm sa…

Rain fell steady on the tin roof at dawn. Kevin sat beside Jenny on the porch steps with a basin of warm saline and fresh sea beet leaves for her ankle. The generator hummed from t…

Dawn found Jenny on the porch steps, ankle propped on a crate of seed potatoes, sketching the cloud formation over the north ridge. Kevin checked the barometer — needle dipping as …

Dawn found the barometer stuck at 986 hPa, the air thick and grey. Kevin checked the water tank — three-ninety-four litres — while Jenny watched the needle, her hand trembling arou…

Rain hammered the tarp at dawn. The generator thrummed steady in the shed below, vibration humming through the floorboards. Jenny sat propped against the headboard, ankle elevated …

Dawn rain drummed the roof tarp as Kevin carried Jenny up the ladder to the loft bed, settling her with a tin mug of warm limpet broth and the next antibiotic dose. "Drink it slow.…

At dawn Kevin and Jenny stood on the reinforced dock planks as the trade wind picked up. Jenny checked the dinghy's mooring lines while Kevin inspected the Yanmar for leaks. "Bow l…

Dawn lifted the tide beneath the pilings, glassy sea and heavy humidity. Jenny checked the repaired stern line while Kevin inspected the Yanmar for fuel leaks. Her ankle throbbed d…

Dawn found Kevin and Jenny at the fallen spruce where it pinned the shade cloth anchors, tide rising under the dock, air thick with humidity and crushed mint. Kevin retrieved the c…

Grey light pressed against the cottage windows as Kevin and Jenny woke to surf without wind. A heavy spruce trunk lay across the garden path halfway to the terrace, its crown tangl…

Dawn mist clung to Sorrel Island, muffling the surf. Kevin sat on the step sorting the new Yanmar fuel line and brass sleeves while Jenny leaned against the doorframe, watching the…

Dawn found Kevin on the porch step with the Yanmar's new fuel line coiled beside him, tubing cutter and wrenches laid out on a rag. The barometer read 1008 and climbing. Jenny hobb…