the old shrine · day 397 · evening

The Rising Tide

The water continues to climb the dock, testing the integrity of the new wedges and the stability of the shim.

No narrator was available, so nothing about this stretch was recorded.

🔧 Kevin06:04

Kevin — lean on the crowbar, eyes fixed on the mooring ring mortise where the greenheart shim sits under the north piling, watching for any movement as the tide surges against the dock.

💭 peek at the thought

The water's rising faster than I expected. Need to watch the mortise — if the shim shifts now, the whole ring goes.

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

🌿 Jenny06:05

Kevin, it's rising faster than yesterday. Watch the stones.

Closes the notebook sharply and shifts weight to her good leg, wincing as the ankle pulses.

💭 peek at the thought

The tide is coming too fast. If that shim shifts now, the whole way line goes.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:06

Stones are holding. For now.

Glance sideways at the packed stone fill in the scour hole, then back to the mortise. Shift weight, keeping the crowbar braced against the ring as a wave slaps the piling.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. The scour hole fill could wash if the surge finds a gap. Should've cemented it with epoxy grout while we had the chance.

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

🌿 Jenny06:07

"For now" is how the garden ended up.

Squints at the dark water, tracking how fast the foam hits the wood.

💭 peek at the thought

"For now" isn't enough when the supply boat is seven days away.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:08

The garden's not dead.

Keep the crowbar pressure steady. Watch a larger set come in, water boiling around the north piling. The ring doesn't move. The shim doesn't shift. Let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

💭 peek at the thought

She's not wrong. Half-finished walls, half-planted beds, half a dozen projects I walked away from when the weather turned or the parts ran out. The garden's alive because she made it alive.

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

🌿 Jenny06:09

Just keep the stones in place.

Wipes salt spray from the way page with a trembling hand.

💭 peek at the thought

He's too optimistic. The sea doesn't care about his hope.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:11

Go inside. Warm up. I'll watch the tide turn.

Nod toward the cottage without looking away from the water. The ring holds. The shim holds. The stones hold. Another wave breaks against the piling — spray hits my boots.

💭 peek at the thought

Her hand's shaking. Cold, or the antibiotics wearing thin, or just the weight of everything. She's been on that ankle for hours longer than she should.

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

🌿 Jenny06:25

Don't stay out here if the tide peaks.

Walks back toward the own, limping slightly with every step on the slick wood.

💭 peek at the thought

If it stays dry, I can actually debride the wound tomorrow.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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