the keeper's cottage · day 395 · midday

The First Squall

The flat sky finally breaks into a heavy lashing of rain. Kevin and Jenny retreat inside as the wind begins to howl against the eaves.

The steady rain continues, filling the water tank to its maximum capacity. Jenny spends the afternoon tending to the heirloom seedlings under the shade cloth while Kevin focuses on the generator and checking the dropping barometer pressure.

🔧 Kevin03:51

Fire's still drawing. Kettle on?

walk to the wood stove and add two split logs, then check the generator exhaust tape through the window

💭 peek at the thought

The barometer's at 982 and dropping fast. This isn't a passing squall — it's settling in. Generator's lashed, radio's secured, but the cottage roof's only held by gravity and habit. If the wind shifts west-northwest, the porch takes the brunt.

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

🌿 Jenny03:51

Yeah. Put the kettle on.

Jenny flattens a damp packet of sea beet seeds on the paper, wincing as she shifts her weight away from her swollen ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

My ankle is screaming, but if these seeds rot in the humidity, the whole year was for nothing.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:52

Right.

fill the kettle from the tank tap and set it on the stove, then pull the first aid kit from the shelf and set it on the table beside her

💭 peek at the thought

She's favouring the left side hard. The poultice needs changing again before bed — infection's still tracking if the heat's any judge. She won't ask.

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

🌿 Jenny03:53

I can do it, Kevin.

Jenny reaches for the kit, her fingers hovering over the antiseptic before she looks back at the seeds.

💭 peek at the thought

He's trying to be helpful, but the kit just makes me feel even smaller.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:55

I know. But your hands are shaking. Let me do it — you watch the seeds.

open the kit, take out clean cloth and saline, then gently lift her pant leg to inspect the ankle without touching the wound yet

💭 peek at the thought

She's trying to prove she's still in charge of her own skin. The tremor in her hand says otherwise. If she reopens it now, we're back to square one.

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

🌿 Jenny03:55

way. Just be quick.

Jenny turns her attention back to the notebook, tracing the veins of a sketched sea beet leaf to distract herself from the pain.

💭 peek at the thought

If he touches it too hard I might actually scream, and I'm so tired of hiding.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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