Days

Rain lashed the roof at dawn. The barometer read 981 hPa. Jenny sat at the table drying damp seed packets on paper while Kevin watched red streaks spreading up her ankle. "How's th…

Dawn found the barometer at 979 hPa, the overcast sky pressing down on the cottage. Jenny sat at the kitchen table spreading damp heirloom seed packets on paper, red streaks climbi…

Dawn found Jenny at the table with heirloom seed packets drying on paper, Kevin at the barometer reading 975 hPa. Air still, sky overcast. "The pressure is holding, for now," she s…

Rain drummed the roof at dawn while Jenny spread damp heirloom seed packets on paper near the stove. Kevin checked the barometer — pressure dropping further. He verified the dinghy…

Warm rain drummed the roof at dawn. Jenny spread damp heirloom seed packets on paper across the kitchen table to catch the rising heat. Kevin sat at the edge, checking tension on t…

Dawn brought rain drumming on the eaves and a barometer stuck at 986 hPa. Kevin dove the spring intake at slack tide — 06:17, he noted — and blasted the screen clear with the press…

Dawn brought thick humidity and rain drumming the glass. Jenny spread damp tomato and pepper seeds on paper towels at the table while Kevin checked the Yanmar fuel lines for leaks …

Dawn arrived under thickening clouds, the air heavy with humidity. Jenny sat on the porch spreading damp heirloom seeds on paper towels to dry. Kevin inspected the Yanmar engine on…

Dawn found Kevin on the dock, drilling the first bolt hole through the greenheart sister plank and piling. The bit wandered in the dry brittle grain, leaving the hole slightly oval…

Dawn found the barometer stuck at 983 hPa. Rain fell warm and steady on the tin roof, the tide rising against the shore with a heavy salt smell. Kevin read the gauge while Jenny pr…

Kevin and Jenny stood under the porch overhang as heavy rain lurching in from the west soaked the island. Jenny kept her ankle propped on a crate while Kevin monitored the baromete…

Dawn broke under steady rain. Kevin stood on the porch in oilskins, checking the tank overflow running clear at four hundred litres. The generator hummed from the shed. Barometer r…

Dawn arrived with warm rain drumming the porch roof and the barometer at 982 hPa, falling steadily. Jenny rested her swollen ankle on a stool, cold pack pressed to the joint, while…

The barometer sat at 980 hPa all day, steady as a held breath. Dawn found the air thick and still, clouds low and grey over the cottage. Kevin checked the Yanmar's mounting and the…

Rain hammered the tin roof at dawn. The water tank overflowed into the collector, gaining about twenty-five litres. Kevin checked the dock mooring ring under load and ran the Yanma…

Dawn found Kevin crouched by the Yanmar while Jenny sat on a crate wrapping her ankle, clouds thickening over the channel. He checked the mooring ring, found the cedar wedges usele…

Dawn broke flat and grey over Sorrel. The tide pressed against the dock pilings, submerging the lower pools. Kevin tested the mooring ring. "Ring's solid. Tide's high as it gets an…

Dawn found Kevin tightening shade cloth over tomato rows as clouds blackened. Jenny sat on the stone wall, ankle propped on a seed crate, watching the barometer hold at 992 hPa. "C…

Dawn found Kevin crouched by the tomato rows, tensioning the last corners of the shade cloth as the wind rose. Jenny sat on the low garden wall, ankle propped on a crate, watching …

Dawn brought a hard south-east gale driving salt spray off the reef. Kevin drove stakes deeper at the garden edge to secure the shade cloth over the tomato rows while Jenny watched…