the keeper's cottage · day 405 · afternoon

The storm breaks the heat

The first heavy drops hit the tin roof just as the tide reaches the lower shelf of the dock.

Kevin monitors the shortwave radio for the supply boat while the rain continues to steady down. Jenny attempts to sketch sea beet morphology in her notebook, struggling with the throbbing in her swollen ankle.

🌿 Jenny14:23

The tide is coming up too fast today. Check the dinghy moorings.

Winced as I shifted my weight, pulling the notebook closer to me on the table.

💭 peek at the thought

If the rain stays this hard, the seeds in the tin will mold before I can get them in the ground.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin14:24

On it. Radio check first — want the supply boat frequency hot in case they call early.

Walk out onto the porch, pull the shortwave off the shelf, power it up and dial to the supply boat working channel. Listen for traffic while scanning the dock lines through the rain.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. The spring tide's pushing harder than the chart said, and that barometer's been sliding all morning. The dinghy's only got the single bow line and the stern spring I rigged last week — if the swell builds with this rain, she'll dance herself loose.

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

🌿 Jenny14:25

Jenny — reached for the seed tin, tracing the rust on the lid with a shaky thumb.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so focused on the radios, he doesn't see the rot in the air. increasinglySAY: Don't stay out too long, the rain is getting slick on the stones.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin14:25

Tin's under the porch overhang. Tarp's battened. It's dry.

Step back inside, set the shortwave on the table beside her notebook, squelch open on the supply boat frequency. Cross to the wood stove, ladle hot broth from the pot into a tin mug, set it next to her elbow.

💭 peek at the thought

Her hands are shaking. The antibiotics should've kicked in by now — day three — but the fever's still riding her. She's worried about the seed tin getting damp, not her ankle. Priorities backwards, but I know better than to say it.

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

🌿 Jenny14:26

Thanks. Keep an eye on that frequency.

Wrapped both hands around the warm mug, letting the heat seep into my chilled palms.

💭 peek at the thought

At least the seeds are dry, but the humidity is still getting into my bones.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin14:26

Frequency's quiet. No traffic yet. I'll keep the speaker up so we both hear it.

Pull the folding chair from the wall, sit beside her at the table. Keep one eye on the radio dial, the other on the rain-lashed window where the dock disappears into the grey. Wait for the tide to turn.

💭 peek at the thought

She's cold, but not from the rain. The ankle's flaring again — low-grade sepsis creeping up. I saw the red trace this morning when I changed the dressing. Two more days without the supply boat and we're flying blind.

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

🌿 Jenny14:27

It's too quiet on the water.

Took a slow sip of the broth, the salt hitting my tongue as I watched the rain blur the edges of the island.

💭 peek at the thought

If the boat doesn't come in nine days, I'll be out of antibiotics for this ankle.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin14:28

Wind's shifting. Going to check the mooring ring bolts before it gets dark. You stay put — broth's good, rest your ankle.

Push back the chair, grab the crowbar and torque wrench from the porch hook. Step out into the rain, hood up, and jog south toward the dock where the mooring ring sits in its mortise.

💭 peek at the thought

She's tasting salt in the broth — must've used the seawater we boiled down for limpets yesterday. Forgot to rinse the pot. The quiet's real though: no gulls, no boat engine, just the rain on tin and the tide sucking back under the dock pilings. Barometer's still falling — 988 now — and the wind's starting to back west.

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

🌿 Jenny14:29

Be careful, the dock is slick with that algae.

Lifted my leg onto the chair, wincing as the swelling throbbed, and reached for my pencil to trace the sea beet morphology in the notebook.

💭 peek at the thought

He's going to get soaked to the bone. The tide is coming too fast for those stones.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin14:29

Algae's thick at the low water mark. I'll stay on the planks.

Step onto the dock, boots finding the grip strips I nailed last month. Crouch at the mooring ring mortise, crowbar ready. Check each of the four 150mm through-bolts — torque wrench set to 35Nm, verify no play.

💭 peek at the thought

She's doing the work I should be doing — logging the transect data while I'm out checking hardware. Her ankle's hot to the touch, swelling past the wrap. The doxycycline's not holding the line. If the supply boat doesn't make the 0600 window tomorrow, I'm calling the medevac. No argument.

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.