the dock · day 43 · evening

Evening radio check and meal

The sun begins to dip, and the temperature drops slightly as the 2000 radio window approaches.

Kevin called Tom on the shortwave at 2000 hours but received only a news broadcast about the Hormuz conflict and static. Jenny boiled the gathered limpets for food while the radio check yielded no contact.

🌿 Jenny15:43

(To herself) Move fast, Jenny.

Pick up the notebook and the damp seed packets, walking quickly back toward the cottage.

💭 peek at the thought

The tide is coming back and if I don't get these seeds into the oven now, the humidity will claim them.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin15:43

Kevin — shut down the Yanmar, coil the charging leads, walk back to the cottage with the shortwave radio

💭 peek at the thought

She's moving fast. The barometer's still steady but that dip this afternoon means something's coming. Need to secure the Yanmar and get to the radio for the 2000 watch. Tom's frequency. Again.

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

🌿 Jenny15:44

way.

Set the radio on the kitchen table and check the oven temperature.

💭 peek at the thought

way's so quiet when he's working, I wonder if he even noticed the pressure drop.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin15:45

Kevin — set the radio on the table beside the oven, plug in the microphone, settle into the chair with the logbook open to today's page

💭 peek at the thought

She's got the radio on the table. Good. Means she's not stopping me from the 2000 call. Oven's still running for the seeds — smart, keeps the humidity off them. I'll take the mic in the chair by the window. Less noise from the stove.

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

🌿 Jenny15:46

(Softly) Is the oven warmed up?

Spread the damp heirloom seeds on a paper towel and slide them into the low oven.

💭 peek at the thought

He's already starting. I'm so hungry, but these seeds can't wait.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin15:47

Yeah. Low setting. Just under a hundred. Good for drying without cooking them.

turn the radio dial slowly to Tom's frequency, listen for a break in the static, keep the mic close but don't key it yet

💭 peek at the thought

She's asking about the oven, not the silence. Not the call. She's keeping the rhythm. I can match it. Keep it simple. Keep it real.

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

🌿 Jenny15:48

I'll boil the limpets while we wait for the signal.

Grab the pot and the handful of gathered limpets from the counter.

💭 peek at the thought

A enough degrees. If it gets any wetter, I'll lose the whole grandmother's work.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin15:48

Kevin — hold the mic, thumb on the transmit button, eyes on the clock — 19:58, 19:59, 20:00 — key the mic: "Sorrel Island, Kilo Sierra Romeo, calling Tom. 2000 hours. Over."

💭 peek at the thought

Limpets for supper. Radio for Tom. Both waiting. The oven hums low. The barometer's steady but the dip this afternoon means a front's building. Supply boat's due tomorrow — if it comes. If the front holds off. If the dinghy's garboard holds. If.

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

🌿 Jenny15:50

(Whispering) Hope he hears us.

Fill the pot with water and place it on the stove.

💭 peek at the thought

way, the window. I hope he actually has the supplies this time.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin15:50

Sorrel Island, Kilo Sierra Romeo. Standing by. Over.

release the transmit button, lean back in the chair, listen to the hiss and pop of the ionosphere, wait

💭 peek at the thought

Static. Just static. Same as 0800. Same as yesterday. Same as every night for eleven months. My thumb stays on the button a beat longer than it should. Let the carrier wave carry what words won't.

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.