the dock · day 313 · dawn

Pre-arrival Preparation

Kevin and Jenny stand on the weathered planks as the sun beats down on the wood. Kevin checks the tension on the new bolts on the mooring ring while Jenny monitors the barometer for a drop in pressure.

The sun rises with punishing heat, already pushing the air temperature toward 29°C. The tide is receding rapidly, exposing the slick rocks of the tide pools near the dock. Kevin and Jenny stand by the pier, checking the falling barometer and preparing for tomorrow's supply boat arrival.

🔧 Kevin20:00

Tide’s low enough to start. I’ll auger the hole first—keep an eye on the pressure. If it drops fast, we stop and secure the dinghy.

Walk to the tool rack, grab the soil auger and maul, carry them to the south piling. Kneel at the waterline, place the auger tip where the new greenheart will go, and begin turning it clockwise to bore the hole.

💭 peek at the thought

The bolts are holding true—good steel, clean threads. Barometer’s still falling slow; no wind yet, but the air feels thick. Jenny’s quiet beside me, eyes on the glass. She’s waiting for the same thing I am: a sign the tide’s turning before we commit to the piling.

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

🌿 Jenny20:01

The auger's bitting - should I start the soil sampling from the south pit while you work the thread alignment?

Walk to the dock railing, check the barometer reading again, then head toward the generator shed to inspect the seacock valves before turning to follow Kevin with the replacement greenheart plank.

💭 peek at the thought

The barometer's still holding at 1037, but that southwest swell could shift anything. Kevin's methodical about this, but I need to check the seacocks before the dinghy takes on water from these repairs.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin20:02

Start the transect. I'll call if the alignment shifts. Seacocks can wait till after the piling—supply boat's tomorrow.

Keep turning the auger, driving it deeper into the piling base, clearing the hole for the new greenheart. Sweat drips onto the wood. The bite feels clean—no hidden rot this far down.

💭 peek at the thought

She's moving fast—sampling, seacocks, the plank. Good. Means she's not waiting for me to tell her what needs doing. The auger's biting clean; sand and grit coming up wet. Greenheart's heavy, salt-cured, sits in the skiff. I'll need the maul and the 150mm bolts once the hole's deep enough.

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

🌿 Jenny20:03

I'll check the seacocks and then mark the transect points. The soil sampling from the south pit needs to happen while the hole's fresh. I'll start the soil sampling from the south pit while you finish the hole.

Head to the cottage to inspect the dinghy's seacocks, then return to the dock to begin soil sampling from the south pit for the Carex transect data. </think>THOUGHT: The seacocks can wait until after the piling goes in, but I need to start

💭 peek at the thought

The supply boat's coming tomorrow, but I shouldn't rely on that timeline. The seacocks are critical - if water's getting in while we're working on the dock, I need to address it now.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin20:04

Keep the samples dry. I'll shout if the barometer drops.

Lean into the auger, turning it with both hands, feeling the torque as it cuts through the wet silt. Wood chips and clay spiral up the shaft. Hole's almost deep enough—just need to break through the hardpan at the bottom.

💭 peek at the thought

She's splitting focus—smart. Soil sampling now means we get fresh data while the hole's open. I can feel the auger hitting resistance—dense clay below the sand. Need another ten turns to clear the depth for the greenheart's foot.

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

🌿 Jenny20:05

I'll get the pH strips ready for the south pit. I want to see if the acidity is shifting near the ridge.

Walk to the garden bench to grab the water test kit and notebook, then move to the south pit to begin the first soil sample.

💭 peek at the thought

If that pressure drops, the whole day's work will be for the birds. Kevin's so focused on the wood, but I'm thinking about the water rising under the pilings.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin20:05

Hole's ready. Grab the greenheart from the skiff when you're done there.

Pull the auger free, shake the muck off the flights. Set it aside. Walk to the skiff, haul the greenheart plank onto the dock—sixty kilos of salt-cured ironwood. Position it over the hole, align the bolt holes with the pilot marks.

💭 peek at the thought

pH strips—four left in the kit. She's thorough. The auger breaks through the hardpan; water surges up the hole, brown and cold. Depth's good now. Greenheart's waiting in the skiff, heavy as a corpse. Need the maul and the four 150mm stainless through-bolts with washers and nylocs. The tide's still dropping—maybe twenty minutes of workable water.

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

🌿 Jenny20:07

I'm starting with the first meter. I need to know what the soil is doing before I even consider those seeds.

Kneel by the south pit, use the trowel to take the top layer of earth, placing it in the labeled bag.

💭 peek at the thought

The wood is heavy, but it needs to hold. If I don't get this set before the tide turns, the current will take the alignment.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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