the garden · day 111 · dawn

The Morning Humidity

Kevin and Jenny stand by the newly raised wall as the humidity rises in the still morning air. Jenny probes the soil in the heirloom seed trays while Kevin notices a trail of disturbed earth near the tomato rows.

The dawn breaks over the garden with a steady trade wind, though the barometer is dropping, signaling a shift in the weather. The water tank is near capacity at 394 litres, leaving little room for heavy rain. In the kitchen, the seed trays show the first signs of tomato and pepper sprouts under the window light.

🔧 Kevin22:09

Tracks lead straight to the heirloom trays. It's after the seedlings, not the seed tin.

Walk to the tomato rows and crouch to examine the disturbed earth more closely.

💭 peek at the thought

Rat's back. Or never left. Chewed through the flour sack last week, now it's working the tomato rows. Trap behind the pantry didn't snap — either it's trap-shy or the bait's wrong.

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

🌿 Jenny22:09

Check the underside of the leaves first. way's been digging shallow.

Kneel beside him to inspect the soil surface for signs of small mammals or nesting birds.

💭 peek at the thought

If the seedlings are gone, the whole season's work is a waste of salt and water.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:10

Voles. Not the rat.

Turn over a tomato leaf at the edge of the row to check the underside for grazing damage or droppings.

💭 peek at the thought

She knows sign better than I gave her credit for. Shallow digs — voles or mice, not rat. Different problem. Rat takes big bites; these are grazing.

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

🌿 Jenny22:11

We need to mesh the area. The supply boat is three days out. ownDO: Reach into my pocket to pull out the notebook and start sketching the burrow patterns in the soil.

💭 peek at the thought

If they're in the trays, they'll have the whole crop before the boat even arrives.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:12

Half-inch hardware cloth, buried six inches down. Stop them at the root zone.

Close the notebook and stand, brushing dirt from my knees.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right — mesh before they nest. And she's writing in my notebook again. I'll let it slide this once; the patterns matter.

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

🌿 Jenny22:13

I'll have to use the mesh from the crate. It'll have to hold.

Stand up and look toward the cottage, calculating the energy needed to dig the trenches.

💭 peek at the thought

I don't have hardware cloth, only the mesh from the old crate and some salvaged wire.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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