the dock · day 154 · dawn

The Heavy Air

Kevin stands by the dinghy, checking the Yanmar mount while the humidity clings to the wood. Jenny sits on the dock planks, inspecting a tray of heirloom seedlings for signs of mold in the damp air.

Kevin gathered fresh limpets from the tide pools. Jenny prepared a meal of corned beef and sea beet while inspecting the heirloom seedlings for mold.

🌿 Jenny13:07

Kevin. Stop fiddling with the bolts for five minutes. We need to eat.

Stand up and carry the seedling tray back toward the cottage.

💭 peek at the thought

My stomach is cramping. I can't think about botany on an empty stomach.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin13:07

Coming.

Wipe hands on trousers, follow Jenny toward the cottage.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. The bolts are torqued. The mount's solid. I'm stalling because the prop shaft test means putting the dinghy in water and that means deciding what comes next.

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

🌿 Jenny13:08

I'm thinking corned beef. And maybe some of those sea beet leaves if they've dried enough.

Walk into the kitchen and set the seedling tray carefully on the table.

💭 peek at the thought

He's too compliant today. It's a strange kind of quiet.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin13:08

Sounds good. I'll check the limpets while the pan heats.

Walk to the tidepools, bucket in hand, to gather a handful of fresh limpets.

💭 peek at the thought

Corned beef and sea beet. Simple. Filling. She's already moved on from the seeds—she's thinking about feeding us, not saving them. I should match that.

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

🌿 Jenny13:10

Don't be long. I'm starving.

Put the cast iron skillet on the stove and open a tin of corned beef.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always moving. Always doing something to avoid just sitting in the room with me.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin13:10

Back in ten.

Walk down to the tidepools, bucket in hand, pry limpets off the rocks at the water's edge.

💭 peek at the thought

Low tide's right now. Good window. The limpets hold better on wet rock when the water's down.

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

🌿 Jenny13:12

Jenny — lean over the seedling trays and carefully inspect the stems of the tomato starts for any translucent, slimy patches.

💭 peek at the thought

Ten minutes. He'll be gone twenty. I can't even focus on the pan because I'm thinking about the mold.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin13:12

Kevin — carry the bucket of limpets back up to the cottage kitchen.

💭 peek at the thought

The rocks are slick. Good grip on the bucket handle. Pry bar finds the lip easy. Pop. Pop. Pop. Six, seven, eight. Shells thick, meat firm. Tide's turning—water lapping at my boots. That's enough.

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.