the keeper's cottage · day 444 · midday

Midday at low tide

The tide has reached its lowest point, revealing the barnacle-covered rocks and debris in the pools. The rain has slowed to a drizzle, leaving a thick mist over the island.

The heavy western rain hammers the cottage roof, forcing the pair to stay indoors and wait. Kevin spends the time meticulously inspecting the Yanmar engine's internal components while Jenny attempts to organize the heirloom seed packets against the encro damp air.

🔧 Kevin03:45

Kevin — walk down to the dock with tools, check transom gap at waterline, drive wet shims into sleeve while tide's still low

💭 peek at the thought

Slack low tide. Dock transom gap's the priority — greenheart shims won't bite dry, need to drive them wet and let them swell. Jenny's ankle comes after.

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

🌿 Jenny03:45

Watch where you step, Kevin. The wood is slicker than bone today.

sit on the porch, sketching the way the water meets the pilings.

💭 peek at the thought

If the tide comes back too fast, those shims will float away before the epoxy sets.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:47

Aye. Got it.

test footing on each plank before committing weight, work the crowbar into the transom gap at the waterline, feel for movement in the greenheart sister plank

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. Greenheart's like ice when wet. One slip and I'm in the drink with a crowbar. She's watching from the porch — ankle propped, sketching. Good. Means she's not trying to follow me down.

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

🌿 Jenny03:48

Slow down. If you pry the bracket off entirely, we lose the whole assembly.

sharpen a pencil, focusing on the line of the water in the sketch.

💭 peek at the thought

He's pushing too hard on that joint; the wood is soft there.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:49

Not prying the bracket. Working shims behind the sister plank. Gap's at the toe.

shift the crowbar to the landward side of the bracket, drive the first tapered greenheart shim into the gap at the transom toe with the mallet, let the rising water swell it tight

💭 peek at the thought

She's not wrong. The bracket's the only thing holding the transom assembly to the piling. If I lever it loose, the whole dock face walks away on the next tide. Need to work the shims in beside it, not through it.

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

🌿 Jenny03:49

Make sure it's flush. I don't want a gap for the rot.

stand up and walk to the edge of the porch, checking the throbbing in my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

If that shim isn't seated, the next surge will pop it right out.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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