the keeper's cottage · day 349 · midday

The approaching rain

The air is heavy with the scent of ozone and salt as the tide continues to out, revealing the limpets and seaweed.

Kevin attempted to shim the leaking cottage shutter with oak wedges during the low tide, but failed to get a secure fit. Jenny tried to treat her swollen ankle with antiseptic, but found the pain too intense and the infection remained stubborn. The tide is beginning to turn, forcing them indoors.

🔧 Kevin07:21

Kevin — walk out to the dock with mallet and oak wedges, check the mooring ring mortise while the tide's low.

💭 peek at the thought

Barometer holding steady at 1029. Tide's still dropping — good window for the dock wedges. Need to get oak shims driven before the water comes back up.

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

🌿 Jenny07:21

Watch the grain, Kevin. The wood is soft, it'll just split again.

Limp to the kitchen, grab the antiseptic and the notebook, sit on the edge of the table to treat the swelling.

💭 peek at the thought

If he doesn't get that ring tight, the surge will take the dinghy when the storm hits, and I'm not swimming two days to the mainland.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin07:23

Vertical grain this time. Got it.

Keep walking to the dock, mallet in hand, four fresh oak wedges in my pocket — all quarter-sawn, vertical grain.

💭 peek at the thought

She's not wrong — last wedges split clean down the grain. Should've gone vertical grain from the start. But the ring's loose now and the supply boat's due in five days. No time for perfect.

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

🌿 Jenny07:23

Don't overdrive it. Let it seat.

Open the antiseptic bottle and hiss as the liquid hits the red streaks moving up my calf.

💭 peek at the thought

At least he's listening to the wood, even if he isn't listening to me.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin07:25

Won't crack this time. Just seating it.

Slide the first oak wedge into the mortise at the dock ring — low tide, no load — tap it in gently with the mallet, following the grain. Don't force it. Let the rising water do the work.

💭 peek at the thought

Antiseptic on the calf — she saw the red line creeping up again. Infection's not done with me. But the dock won't wait. One thing at a time.

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

🌿 Jenny07:25

Keep it level. The salt is already eating the old wood.

Sketch the path of the red streaks in the notebook, marking the distance from the ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

If that ring holds, I might actually get a boat out if the supply ship fails.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin07:27

Level as I can get it. Gonna do three more after this one seats.

Wait for the first wedge to settle as the water begins to rise, then slide in the second — same spot, same angle, tapped just enough to stay. Watching the water lift it slightly. Not overdriving. Letting the tide do the seating.

💭 peek at the thought

She's tracking the infection like it's a tide line. Smart. If it hits the knee, we're in trouble. But the dock's still my priority — if that ring goes under load, the whole finger pier could tear loose when the supply boat comes.

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

🌿 Jenny07:27

Don't force it. The wood is too soft from the rot.

Apply the antiseptic to the swollen skin, wincing as it stings the infection.

💭 peek at the thought

If it doesn't seat, the whole thing will shear off when the first storm hits the south.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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