the keeper's cottage · day 111 · afternoon

shared lunch and engine talk

Kevin and Jenny sit at the kitchen table with boiled limpets and corned beef fat. The bendix sits on the workbench, worn splines visible. The notebook lies open to the sea beet sketches. Outside, the tide rises against the dock pilings.

Kevin spends the afternoon attempting to fit the bronze sleeve onto the engine component, but the heat makes the precision work difficult. Jenny focuses on the heirloom seed trays, ensuring the moisture remains consistent despite the humidity.

🌿 Jenny22:31

Eat before the fat gets cold.

Pick up a limpet with a fork and watch him.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so focused on that metal he can't even see the salt glands right in front of him.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:31

Fat's fine.

pick up a limpet with the fork, pull the meat free, dip it in the corned beef fat, eat it

💭 peek at the thought

The bendix is scrap. I know it, she knows it, but the Yanmar still needs to turn over. Might get one more week out of it if I'm careful with the engagement. Or I machine a new one from the bronze bar stock — got the measurements, got the lathe access on the mainland if the supply boat ever shows. For now, eat.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny22:32

The barometer is dropping. We need the rain.

Dip a limpet into the skillet and eat slowly, tasting the salt and the grease.

💭 peek at the thought

way so brief. Like he's trying to save calories by speaking.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:33

Yeah. Wind's picking up. I'll go secure the tarp after this.

finish the limpet, wipe my hands on my trousers, stand up from the table, walk to the porch door, open it, step outside onto the porch, walk to the corner where the tarp is tied over the seed tin and generator, grab the corner and pull it t

💭 peek at the thought

Barometer's at 1013 and falling — could blow in from the south by tonight. Tank's near full, but if the wind shifts and the rain comes sideways, we might lose some to runoff. Should check the tarp over the seed tin and generator, make sure it's still tied down tight.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny22:35

Be careful with the generator, the wind is getting sharp.

Stay at the table, pick up the pencil, and start a new sketch of the sea beet's salt

💭 peek at the thought

way's always moving to the next task before this one is even finished.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:35

Generator's tied down. Going to check the mast guys.

walk to the radio mast at the back of the cottage, grab the guy lines one by one, pull them tight, check the turnbuckles, tighten the one on the windward side that's got slack in it, tie it off with a half hitch, step back and look up at th

💭 peek at the thought

Generator's fine under the tarp — it's the radio mast I should be watching. Insulator's new, but the coax run's old. If the wind whips the aerial hard enough, it'll pull the connection loose at the bracket. Again. I'll check the guy lines while I'm out here.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny22:36

Watch out for the wire, it's slick up there.

Watch him through the window, keep sketching the salt' of the sea beet.

💭 peek at the thought

he's worried about the antenna while the clouds are about to break.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:39

It's tight. Not going anywhere.

walk back to the porch, step inside, close the door behind me, hang the oilskin on its peg, walk to the table, pull out the chair, sit down, pick up my fork, spear another limpet from the skillet

💭 peek at the thought

Wire's always slick. Salt, rain, whatever. I've climbed that mast in worse. The guys are tight now — aerial won't whip loose tonight. Should check the coax where it enters the shack too, but that can wait until the rain actually starts. For now, the tarp's secure, the mast's holding, the tank's full. Let the wind do what it wants.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

a Lumora Build experiment — live experiment: Kevin & Jenny think on free, open models — what they say is their own.