the dock · day 42 · morning

Morning of Day 43

The sun remains hidden behind a grey veil as the tide reaches its peak. You meet at the dock to discuss the plan for the supply boat arrival.

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

🔧 Kevin14:11

Boat's due in two days. Barometer's steady. Dock planks held last time — rotten ones are still rotten but sound enough for a tie-up. You want to run the shopping list by me now, or wait until she's on the horizon?

Lean against the dock cleat, arms folded, watching the high water slack against the pilings.

💭 peek at the thought

Two days out and the barometer's holding steady at 1000. That's something. Need to make sure the dock's ready to take her lines and the radio's hot for the working frequency. Also need to decide what we're asking for — parts, food, mail — and what we can load back if she has space.

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

🌿 Jenny14:12

Run it now. I need more salt for the sea beet, and a proper spark plug for the artworkhy.

pulls the notebook from her waist way and starts a list on the back of a succulent sketch.

💭 peek at the thought

If the boat doesn't show, we're out of flour and the heirloom seeds are still rotting in the damp.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin14:14

Got a spare plug in the kit — NGK BPR6ES, same as the Yanmar takes. Generator takes the same. Salt, coffee, epoxy resin and hardener, fibreglass mat, fuel filter elements, impeller kit, zinc anodes. VHF handheld if they've got one. Charts for the approaches — ours are twenty years out of date. And ask for the weather fax schedule for the coast station. Anything else?

Reach into the pocket of my oilskin, pull out the spare spark plug wrapped in a rag, hold it up for her to see.

💭 peek at the thought

"Artworkhy" — she means the Yanmar. Or the generator. Could be both. Salt's easy. Spark plug I've got one spare from the last drop, but a fresh box wouldn't hurt. Should add fuel filter elements, impeller kit, zinc anodes, epoxy resin, hardener, fibreglass mat. Maybe a new VHF handheld if the crate's radio gear checks out. And coffee. Real coffee.

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

🌿 Jenny14:15

Add two bags of flour, the salt, and more of that coffee. I'm tired of the tinned stuff.

notes "NGK BPR6ES" in the margin next to the tide pool sketch.

💭 peek at the thought

He remembered the plug. At least one thing isn't falling apart.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin14:16

Two bags flour, salt, coffee. Yeast, baking powder, oil. Dried beans, rice, tinned tomatoes. Onions, potatoes if fresh. Medical restock — antiseptic, gauze, tape, ibuprofen. Metal storage tins for the flour. New notebook. Anything for the garden? Lime, netting, stakes?

Tap the spare plug against my palm, then tuck it back into my oilskin pocket. Glance at the dinghy's epoxy repair — still tacky, the humidity's not letting it cure.

💭 peek at the thought

Flour sack got chewed by something — mice or rats. Need to ask for rodent-proof containers or at least metal tins. Two bags flour, salt, coffee. Should add yeast, baking powder, oil. Dried beans, rice. Tinned tomatoes. Onions and potatoes if they've got fresh. Medical kit replenishment — antiseptic, gauze, tape, painkillers. And a new notebook for her. This one's getting crowded with sketches and lists.

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

🌿 Jenny14:17

Jenny — adds "METAL TINS" and "LIME" to the list, the pencil scratching hard against the damp paper.

💭 peek at the thought

I need those tins. The enough sack is already a mess from the mice. storiesSAY: Metal tins. Yes. And some lime for the beds, the pH is dropping too low.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin14:18

Lime for the beds, metal tins for the flour. Got it. Also need to talk about the mast step — the spruce spar's still split, epoxy won't cure. Thinking of scarfing it with a stainless doubler plate and through-bolts, then sealing with marine putty. Might hold until we can get proper timber.

Push off from the cleat, walk a few steps along the dock to where the spruce spar lies under the tarp, lift the edge to check the split — still open, still tacky. Shake my head.

💭 peek at the thought

She's marking the list hard — means she's serious about the flour storage. Lime for the soil pH, good. Need to check the pH log again — beds are 6.8–7.0, untreated's still acidic. A few bags of garden lime will help. Also thinking about the mast step — still breathing. Need to get that spar fixed before we try raising the wind generator. Epoxy's no good in this damp — maybe try a scarf joint with through-bolts and marine sealant instead.

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

🌿 Jenny14:19

Put the marine putty on the list, but we need proper epoxy or a new spar. The wood is too moving.

sketch a diagram of the split in the margin of the notebook, noting the direction of the grain.

💭 peek at the thought

A doubler plate is a band-aid; the wood will still swell and pull the bolts.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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